My Prince Charming
by Historyman101
Summary: Set after light novels. After spending a semester in school together, Lillia and Treize take a vacation to the seaside country of Vasel for some relaxation and fun. But there is danger lying in wait for them... LilliaXTreize some AllisonXWil Please R
1. Chapter 1: A Summer in Vasel

A/N: For those who don't know me, I have written a bunch of stories for Eureka Seven, but I have recently gotten bored with writing for the anime. I write primarily historical fiction and the atmosphere of the Allison and Lillia anime fits squarely with my favorite time period: 1930s-1940s Europe. Also I love the original novels by Sigsawa and I think that the anime did not do his masterpieces enough justice. Therefore, I will write some fan fiction for this anime. For any who didn't read the description, this takes place after the light novels. Besides that there is nothing else to say. Off I go! Let the adventure begin!

* * *

_During that summer, Treize and I only thought about two things: Flying and falling…in love._

_It's strange the way people go far out of their ways to show love. Never in my wildest of imaginations did I think that my summer with Treize would take the turns that it did, but looking back now, I am glad for what happened. And this is the story of why._

**MY PRINCE CHARMING**

**By Jordan Harms**

**Chapter One: A Summer in Vasel**

It was the year 3306 on the World Calendar. It was early June, the beginning of summer for all attending the upper school in Roxche's capital. It was a day like any in the summer. The air felt warm. The sky was clear with hardly a cloud residing in the blue yonder. Through the campus of the upper school, there was a slight breeze that managed to cool the ones who were suffering from the heat.

Near the front gates of the school, standing tall with its black tips like spikes struck against the rich blue sky, among the myriad of students filing out for summer vacation, were two uniformed students, a 17-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl. The boy had ebony black hair and brown eyes wearing a grey suit jacket and matching trousers with a white dress shirt underneath. Next to him walked a girl with light brown hair and bronze eyes wearing a white shirt with puffy sleeves, a red bowtie, and a plaid green skirt. The two of them had been friends since childhood and the boy had only recently come to attend her school. They had just finished their first year in school together and were ready for the summer.

"So what plans do you have for the summer Lillia?" the boy with black hair asked casually.

"Nothing in particular…Your Highness…" the girl, Lillia, answered with a giggle. The boy issued a groan.

"I told you not to call me that in school," the boy said. The girl only giggled and gave him a soft punch in the shoulder to which the boy just chuckled lightly. "I can't have too many people knowing about who I really am."

"But it's so fun, Your Highness," Lillia said smirking.

"Let me put it this way then. How would you feel if I went and called you Lillia Acacia Corazon Whittington Schultz all the time?" Lillia turned to him with a scowl, fierce catlike eyes and bright red cheeks and growled.

"Don't call me by my full name, Treize!" The boy, Treize, only chuckled and raised a hand with one forefinger extended.

"My point exactly…"

The two old friends walked together to a small parking lot where Treize's black motorcycle with the sidecar was, locked in its position so no one would steal it, a prospect that was remote; still, Treize being who he was, he didn't want to take chances. He let Lillia climb into the car first being the polite…_princely_ gentleman he was brought up to be.

"Ladies first."

"You always say that!"

They both laughed as Lillia climbed into the motorcycle and Treize took the driver's seat, as always. Treize started up the engine and they were soon both on their way. As they sped away from the school, Treize took a right turn at a crossroads, heading for the capital where Lillia's parents currently resided. As they cruised along the street towards the capital, Lillia turned to him and spoke.

"Say Treize…"

"What is it, Lillia?"

"What plans do you have for the summer?"

"Oh I have something special in mind…"

"Really?!" she said with a wide smile on her face. "What kind of plans?"

"I wanted to save it as a surprise for when I took you home."

"Is it really that big that you have to keep it a secret from me until we get home?" Treize looked at her kind face and smiled earnestly.

"Yes it is."

"You and your secrets…" she said smiling slyly.

"What about them?"

"Oh, nothing. I know a lot more about you now that we've spent a whole semester in school together, but there are still some things I want to ask you."

"And there is still a lot I want to tell you, Lillia."

"I guess everything will be revealed in time."

"Yeah…"

There was especially one thing neither had told the other yet. During the semester at school, they had spent more time with each other than they ever did before. Treize was in the same classes as Lillia most of the time so they saw a lot of each other. They often worked together on projects, in class activities, and were part of the same clubs. Over time they had grown closer to each other, although they still denied being boyfriend/girlfriend. Whenever anyone posed the question, Lillia would always throw a fit. Heck, they hadn't even shared a kiss…well…unless giving Treize mouth-to-mouth resuscitation during that time in Tolcasia counted at all. But despite all that there was a small stirring in their hearts. They all felt like each time they met, and it was considerably often, there was something that needed to be said but neither could sound it out into words, making them both indelibly frustrated for the rest of the day and angry/ashamed at themselves later. But, Treize had made up his mind this time.

He had planned out a whole vacation for just him and Lillia. Two full weeks away at a lovely seaside country, a nice getaway, with just the two of them. And spending time together doing fun things like taking a seaplane tour or riding along the Lutoni River might give him the right opportunity to finally say the words he had meant to be said for a long time. Going to this country was costly, however, so he asked for help from Lillia's parents and his parents (on the sly so Merielle wouldn't find out).

This time he had come to a conclusion, an ultimate decision. He was _going_ to tell her. No ifs, ands or buts about it. No maybes. No wavering. He would have to choose who he wanted to marry before he turned 20, and he had made up his mind a long time ago. This time, by hook or by crook, he was _going _to tell her how he felt about her, even if he had to force it out of himself. He had received some encouragement to at least tell her about him being a prince of Ikstova over the last year, but that day on the train he _almost_ said the words. There had just been too many things in the way for him. Telling her how he felt was not as important as playing cat and mouse with armed ruffians and keeping creepy demented people like Criminal 42 at bay. But now that all of that was over, he could finally have a chance to say what he felt in his heart.

As he thought all this, he almost missed Lillia's apartment in the capital, but thankfully was snapped back into reality by Lillia's calls.

"Treize, slow down! You're going to miss my house!"

"Huh? OH! I'm sorry!"

He hit the brakes as he came up to her apartment, causing the motorcycle tires to screech and leave skid marks on the pavement, marking their trail and leading right to them the way railroad tracks led to the final destination where no more tracks could go any further.

"Treize, you really need to pay attention!" Lillia said making a pouty face.

"I'm sorry, Lillia, really," Treize said, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment. "I was just thinking really hard."

"Really?" she said with bright bronze eyes. "About what?"

"About…what I'm going to tell you when we get inside…"

"Oh really? Well if you were thinking about it extra hard, then it must be really good…" she said with a cute innocent smile that would make anyone fall in love.

Treize just chuckled as they walked into the building and up the stairs to the apartment on the third floor. She came to the door with her apartment number and reached for her silver key. She slid it into the lock and turned it, and pushed the door forward, greeting her parents inside:

"Mama! Papa! I'm home! Treize is here too!"

She found her mother, Allison, a stunningly beautiful woman of 35 with blonde hair and blue eyes sipping tea at a table with her husband and Lillia's father, Wil, a tall man with light brown hair and bronze eyes behind metallic reading glasses, also 35. It had only been a short while ago when she once knew him as Major Travas, but ever since the mission involving the train plot, Wil had retired from the Sou-Beil Intelligence Agency for good, and reclaimed his long stowed away identity as Wilhelm Schultz. Ever since then he had led a stable private life as a professor of history at the Federal University in the capital. But even after leaving the intelligence service, he still maintained connections with some of his old colleagues. He and Allison remarried shortly after his retirement and ever since he has lived with her and Lillia. Both parents looked to her daughter and her childhood friend and greeted them with smiles on their faces.

"Welcome home, Lillia," Allison said cheerfully.

"How was your last day today?" Wil inquired.

"It was wonderful," Lillia said with a bright smile. "We got to go home because we finished exams earlier than expected. Everyone was really happy for it."

"Good to hear, dear," he said as he brought his tea up to his lip only to have it sting him slightly.

"You know you can't drink hot things, Papa!"

"I know; it's just a persistent habit of mine." He then looked to his daughter's right and saw her friend Treize wearing a school uniform standing next to her. "What brings you here, Treize?"

"He wanted to tell me what he was doing for the summer break!" Lillia said with exuberance.

Allison and Wil turned to each other and smiled knowingly. They had helped him plan the vacation with travel expenses and had arranged a reservation at a hotel in the port city in the seaside country that was their destination. All eyes turned to Treize with smiles on their faces. Treize could not help but feel a little embarrassment at all the attention being on him, but such was to be expected with such important news. He smiled and cleared his throat before turning to Lillia, looking into his childhood friend's bronze eyes with his soft brown.

"Lillia, I made big plans for summer break. What I wanted to do was…"

Lillia's eyes seemed to sparkle with anticipation in the afternoon light shining through the balcony window. The light reflected through her light brown hair making it seem almost heavenly. The semi-divine sight of his childhood friend made him say it all.

"…I wanted to go on a trip to Vasel with you!"

At that, Lillia gasped and almost fainted. Allison and Wil just smiled and chuckled lightly. Lillia's smile turned into a wide grin that ran from ear to ear as she jumped and clapped her hands lightly. She had always wanted to go to Vasel, a lovely country by the seaside known for its diamond mines which made for its fine jewelry, known as a center of commerce for Roxche, and known for its beautiful riverside scenery. It was her dream come true! She was as happy as an angel.

"Treize, you went out of your way to organize a trip with me…to Vasel? You know I always wanted to see Vasel!"

"That's why I planned it. I had you in mind."

"Did you really plan it all by yourself?"

"Well I would not have gotten the money for it if it had not been for your mother and father and my mother and father." Lillia turned to her parents with an inquisitive look.

"You knew about it and didn't tell me?"

"We figured it would be better if Treize told you himself," Allison explained.

"But I did plan a whole bunch of things that we can do together," Treize continued. "We can take a seaplane ride or visit the diamond mines or go for a ride across the Lutoni River."

"Sounds like you have everything planned out," Lillia said smirking. "When do we leave?"

"In about four days or so. It will give both of us enough time to get packed. Are you happy, Lillia?"

"OVERJOYED!!!"

She leaped at him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling on him slightly. Treize just chuckled nervously. He didn't expect her to be this happy about it. Allison and Wil just looked on smiling, and couldn't help but think about how much those two children reminded them of them in their earlier years, when the world seemed new, bright and waiting to be explored with an adventure around every corner.

"I didn't think you would be this excited about it."

"Of course I am! I have always wanted to see Vasel! I was going to go with Mama and Papa next year, but this changes everything."

"Glad to see you so excited, dear," Wil said smiling sagely. "I am sure you two will have a lot of fun."

Lillia and Treize laughed as they sat down with her parents and a quiet afternoon talking to each other and wondering what adventures tomorrow would bring them. Every now and then however, Treize could not help but catch a quick glimpse of Lillia while she wasn't looking, for fear of her punching him for staring. But as they talked into the afternoon until the time came for them to part, Treize kept repeating in his mind the promise he had made to himself for this summer.

_I have made my decision. This time…I won't let anything stop me. Lillia, I will tell you what I truly feel in my heart. I promise I unveil the longest-kept secret of all._

* * *

The four days had passed quicker than they had anticipated. They had packed enough clothes to last them about two weeks, which was how long they were planning to stay in Vasel to see all that it had to offer. Lillia and Treize along with Lillia's parents had come to the railroad terminal to catch the next train bound for Klow, the major port city in Vasel. Lillia's parents had come to see them off while Treize's mother, father and sister had to stay in Ikstova for some government business. However being by the side of the one true friend he had in this world was enough for him. They soon found the platform where the train bound for Klow sat in waiting. It was a considerably long train; Lillia counted almost 13 passenger coaches in all, all painted in a vibrant summer green with white stripes, all of which were headed by a large polished high-wheeled green steam locomotive with red stripes. Even before the journey had begun, the prospects seemed bright and promising just by the luxurious look of the train that would carry them to their destination.

_Out there, there's a world outside of Yonkers_

_Way out there beyond this hick town, Barnaby_

_There's a slick town, Barnaby_

_Out there, full of shine and full of sparkle_

_Close your eyes and see it glisten, Barnaby_

_Listen, Barnaby!_

They stopped at the platform and faced Allison and Wil, looking at them with bright smiles. Allison was dressed in a one-piece orange dress with spaghetti straps while Wil wore a loose-fitting navy blue jacket and matching trousers over a white dress shirt with a blue tie with black oxford shoes.

"Did you forget anything Lillia?" Allison asked her daughter in a motherly tone. Lillia only laughed.

"Even if I did, it is a little late to be asking now."

"I would have noticed if you had forgotten anything, anyway," Wil said chuckling.

"That is true. You _do_ have a photographic memory."

"Now remember, Lillia, if you or Treize need anything at all or if something goes wrong, just give us a call okay?"

"We'll remember," they said together, smiling.

As the porters took their bags and towed them to the baggage car near the front of the train, the two youngsters took two steps onto the train and looked back to Lillia's parents as the two adults smiled at their daughter and her dearest childhood friend. They looked their best this special day. Lillia was wearing a white blouse tied around her neck in a neat bow, a short maroon skirt with shoulder straps and black thigh-high leggings and red buckle shoes. A step above her, Treize wore his usual white collared shirt under his black leather jacket with olive green trousers tucked into black boots.

_Put on your Sunday clothes, there's lots of world out there_

_Get out the brilliantine and dime cigars_

_We're gonna find adventure in the evening air_

_Girls in white in a perfumed night_

_Where the lights are bright as the stars_

Both wore bright and eager smiles on their faces, eyes shimmering as the light shone through the glass dome of the station, sparkling with the excitement of this, a new adventure that awaited them, with fun and thrill just around the corner. Just then the conductor blew his whistle and waved a green flag signaling the start of their adventure. The engineer blew two sharp reports on the whistle and the train gave a sudden lurch forward, one that nearly threw Lillia off the train, but Treize caught her before she fell, holding her with his arms around her midsection. Lillia looked up to her friend's brown eyes and felt something churn in her heart.

_Put on your Sunday clothes, we're gonna ride through town_

_In one of those new horse-drawn open cars_

_We'll see the shows at Delmonico's_

_And we'll close the town in a whirl_

_And we won't come home until we've kissed a girl!_

_Why do I feel like…I want to say something…what do I say? What do I say?!_

"Th-thanks, Treize. I need to be more careful."

_Idiot! That's NOT what I wanted to say!!!_

"It's no problem Lillia," Treize responded, beaming. He hoisted her up and brought back onto the steps before turning and waving goodbye to Allison and Wil, standing on the platform and the wind flapping at their clothes, with wide grins on their faces, showing their white teeth that reflected in the sunlight with the shine of diamonds.

"Take care you two!" Allison said calling out. "Have fun!"

"Don't get into trouble, you two!" Wil said, the light shining off his reading glasses.

"We won't!" Lillia called back. "We'll call if anything happens!"

_Put on your Sunday clothes when you feel down and out_

_Strut down the street and have your picture took_

_Dressed like a dream your spirits seem to turn about_

_That Sunday shine is a certain sign_

_That you feel as fine as you look_

The train picked up speed and they kept waving at each other, until both were out of sight. Allison sighed with happiness as Wil put his arm around her shoulder and they watched the train speed away, leaving a trail of grey smoke from the engine's smokestack marking the trail of their daughter and her friend on their trip towards adventure. Wil felt something else leave as the train sped out of sight. He felt he had just seen the Lillia that he knew during his time in the Intelligence Service for the last time. When she returned, she would be a new person. More mature. More self-aware. At first he felt unbearably sad at seeing the daughter he had known for 16 years turn into someone new, but in the next moment he smiled and remembered how he had grown during his adventures with Allison 16 years earlier, back when he was as dense as a brick when it came to figuring out how much Allison loved him. It would be not the end of something, but the beginning of something. The beginning of seeing his daughter grow into a mature headstrong young woman, just like her mother.

_Beneath your parasol, the world is all a smile_

_That makes you feel brand new down to your toes_

_Get out your feathers, your patent leathers_

_Your beads and buckles and bows_

_For there's no blue Monday in your Sunday_

_No Monday in your Sunday_

_No Monday in your Sunday clothes_

"They sure remind me of us," Allison remarked.

"The same thought occurred to me," Wil concurred. "You know what's funny though? I felt like I was saying goodbye to the Lillia I knew for 16 years. Like the old Lillia was going away."

"What do you mean, Wil?"

"I felt that by the time she came back, she would be a changed person, not at all like the Lillia we knew." Allison raised an eyebrow and tilted her head.

"I still don't quite understand."

"Well think of it the way I had changed by the time you married me in the church. I was different than how I was before. Do you understand what I mean?"

"I think so. Like she's…maturing."

"That's it."

"Well, in that regard we can only see what happens when they get back."

"You're right about that, dear."

Wil chuckled and gave her a quick peck on the temple before they started walking out of the station and to their car that would take them home.

_Put on your Sunday clothes when you feel down and out_

_Strut down the street and have your picture took_

_Dressed like a dream your spirits seem to turn about_

_That Sunday shine is a certain sign_

_That you feel as fine as you look_

_Beneath your bowler brim the world's a simple song_

_A lovely lilt that makes you tilt your nose_

_Get out your slickers, your flannel knickers_

_Your red suspenders and hose_

_For there's no blue Monday in your Sunday clothes!_

On the train, Treize and Lillia traversed up and down the length of the train exploring and passing the time they would have until they reached Klow. They came to a café car and decided to get some food before they went to their compartment. Treize turned to Lillia and smiled.

"I'll get the food, Lillia. You go on to the compartment. I'll meet you there."

"You're too kind…Your Highness," Lillia said above a whisper smirking.

Treize just sighed and chuckled as Lillia skipped away to find her compartment as Treize stepped up to the counter, ordering tea and biscuits for the two of them. He quickly got what he asked, paid and received the tea and biscuits on a platter. He shuffled out of the café car and soon made his way to the coach car where he found a door open. He peeked in.

Lillia was sitting on the right side of the compartment staring out the window at the scenic Roxchean countryside flying past her outside. Treize couldn't move as he was lost in how beautiful she looked as she sat there, unbothered by anything and everything in this world. Her light brown hair shined in the sun like a bright gem, and her bronze eyes sparkled, rubies engaged in a waltz before his eyes. In the sunlight shining through the window, her face appeared smooth like piano keys. It made him want to come out to her right now. He felt his knees almost buckle from seeing her like this but he pulled himself together and cleared his throat which quickly got Lillia's attention. She turned her head sending her light brown hair into dancing and saw her friend holding a platter of tea and biscuits.

"Thank you…Your Highness…" she said with a giggle.

"You're welcome Lillia," he responded laughing.

He set them on his seat and pulled out a retractable table from the arm of his seat before setting the platter on the table. They then drank tea together as the train rocketed across the countryside towards Klow and Vasel, on their trip to destiny. What lay ahead of them? They knew not. There was one thing that both were certain of: there would be fun and excitement for the two of them. And for Treize, he would make this the time that he would work up the courage to say what he had long wanted to.

_Lillia…there is so much I want to tell you…_

_Put on your Sunday clothes there's lots of world out there_

_Put on your silk cravat and patent shoes_

_We're gonna find adventure in the evening air_

_To town we'll trot to a smoky spot_

_Where the girls are hot as a fuse, __Wow!_

_Put on your silk high hat and at the turned up cuff_

_We'll wear a handmade gray suede buttoned glove_

_We wanna take New York by storm!_

_We'll join the Astors at Tony Pastor's and this I'm positive of_

_That we won't come home, no, we won't come home_

_No, we won't come home until we fall in love!_

* * *

A/N: Well that's the first chapter!! :D And so I begin the adventure of Allison and Lillia in my career of fanfiction writing. Expect twists, turns, thrills, chills, and surprises around every corner! I am going to make this more like the light novels than the anime so expect it to be grittier and more action heavy than the anime was. :D Anyway, read, review, you know the drill. And I will see you all next time when we meet our young friends in Vasel!


	2. Chapter 2: The Crab With Silver Claws

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed that first chapter. I had a lot of fun writing it. Now we get deeper after we have arrived in Klow. Without further ado, let's begin!

* * *

**Chapter Two: The Crab With Silver Claws**

In the Sou-Beil embassy in the Roxchean capital, an auburn-haired blue-eyed bespectacled man of 56 looked over papers at his desk. All contained possible leads to a ring of smugglers located in Sou-Beil. Nearby was a woman in her early 30s with auburn hair and dark eyes, who was a former colleague of Wil when he was still known as Major Travas.

"What do you make of it, Axe?" the man asked intently.

"From what we've gathered, sir," the woman, Axe, explained, "the smugglers are definitely based in Sou-Beil. We think they might be based in the city of Bolse, but we still have no information as to who their ringleader is."

"Do you have any leads?"

"None yet, sir."

"What about what they smuggle?"

"Rare gems, mostly, sir. They smuggle them in freighters over the river."

"And there is only one place in the whole continent where gems are in abundance."

"Vasel," she said knowingly.

"Correct. Axe, do you know of any major port cities in Vasel?"

"I actually have compiled a list here sir. I've arranged them in alphabetic order."

Axe handed him the list as the man adjusted his spectacles and looked over the list carefully.

_Azbakia_

_Dzlrnouk_

_Funst_

_Klow_

_Triansk_

"Which is the largest out of all of them?" the bespectacled officer asked.

"The largest is Klow, General," Axe answered calmly. "The smallest is Triansk."

"Most likely the smugglers are in Klow. They need a large port to escape the detection of the harbor police. Send agents Zimmermann and Campion to investigate there."

"Yes, sir. Oh and sir, I got a call from Wilhelm Schultz a few days ago."

"What about?"

"He said that his daughter Lillia and her friend Treize are in Klow for the summer. Looks like they might be there during the time we undergo the investigation."

"I see…"

The man took off his spectacles and rubbed his eyes tiredly. He knew Wil from before during his days as an agent in the service when Wil served under him. He was the one who suggested he come into the service to begin with. Ever since Wil left the service, he had been shouldering the burdens he left behind which, truth be told, were not that much since the train plot. Things had settled down internationally and violence was sparking up less often. Still they would have to put down the occasional rabid noble every now and again but for the most part all was quiet. Now, in the midst of a major intelligence operation cracking down on smugglers, Wil's daughter now entered the picture once again like she had so many times. He wondered, did she actually go _looking_ for danger? Did she like getting into life or death situations all the time?

_Wilhelm Schultz…Oscar Whittington…the goddess of fate must be laughing at me right now._

"It would be best then to notify Zimmermann and Campion of their presence then. And it is probably best to keep an eye on them as well so they don't interfere in our investigation."

"With the history those two have, sir, it is highly unlikely they won't find their way into our investigation somehow."

"All the same, have Zimmermann and Campion notified."

"Yes, General Cross."

"You are dismissed then, Axe."

Axe saluted her superior and left the office and left Acacia Cross alone. He reached for a drawer in his desk and pulled out a black and white photo of a portly mustachioed blonde man with his blonde-haired wide-eyed daughter on her shoulder. He smiled, nostalgically remembering those happier times before he had to leave her in the care of Grandma Moot and then assume a new identity.

_Allison…so many years have passed…and now you are a full grown woman with a child to care for. Wil has done his time here. Now the burden rests on me._

* * *

About five days had passed without incident and Lillia and Treize were having a great deal of fun. Just yesterday they had gone on a tour of the famous Vaselian mines.

The mines were located in the outlying hills where diamond concentration was high. Diamonds and other rare gems had been found in the Vaselian Hills only around 50 years ago by two archeologists in the pay of the Roxchean government. Ever since that time, diamonds were found everywhere in the hills surrounding Vasel and diamonds began to contribute a significant amount to Vasel's economic growth. Vasel had the most wealth of all the countries in the region, since diamonds were in scarcity on most parts of the continent, and many would do anything to gain that kind of wealth.

Treize and Lillia were in a small seaside restaurant near the harbor in Klow. They had a wonderful view of the Lutoni River outside the windows, and occasionally they would stop eating to just watch the ships roll by the window, the mid-afternoon sun casting a glow on the ships that passed. They laughed and talked about how they would enjoy the rest of their two weeks here.

"How about a boat ride across the river?" Treize suggested.

"I was thinking more of a seaplane ride today," Lillia offered looking out at a plane flying over the river. "It's been a long time since we went out in a seaplane."

"You know, you're right. It's been more than a year since we took to the skies; I kind of miss it."

He was right; the last time they went off into the air was during their vacation in Tolcasia, and that time almost got them killed. Treize still remembered how they had to go toe-to-toe with the Tolcasian Air Force when they had cornered them in that large seaplane filled with orphaned children, how ultimately Allison saved their skins from being shot down, the tenseness they both felt when faced with the knowledge that they could have died any minute. But all that was in the past now, and the only direction to move was forward into whatever the future held for them. He missed flying anyway. He missed the feel of the wind whipping past his face and through his hair, the exhilaration felt when climbing into the air, as if the whole sky belonged to him. He missed the amazing feeling. He needed a flight in the air to rejuvenate him.

"Then we'll go flying," he said with a bright smile on his face. "I really miss flying anyway."

"Then we have a plan," she said with a wide grin on her face.

They finished their meal shortly thereafter and paid the check. As they started to leave, they began talking to each other until they bumped into two uniformed gentlemen, nearly knocking them both down.

"AH! We're sorry!"

They looked up and got a good look at the two uniformed men. The one on the left had black hair and green eyes with a small goatee covering his upper and lower lip while the one on the right was clean-shaven, his brown eyes magnified by glasses and a head of earth brown hair. They looked to be in their late 20s and were dressed in light brown uniforms with medals and citations lining their left upper chests.

"We're so sorry!" Lillia said, her face blushing in embarrassment. "We were talking and we weren't paying attention to where we were going! We're sorry! Sorry! Sorry!"

"What she said," Treize said chuckling nervously, rubbing the backside of his ebony black-haired head.

"No need to apologize," said the goateed man. "We were busy talking to each other as well so we weren't paying attention either."

"Say, I recognize you," the clean shaven man said to Lillia, who tilted her head in bewilderment. "You're Lilliane Acacia Corazon Whittington Schultz, am I right?" Lillia blushed at her full name being recited to perfection.

"I-I just go by Lillia…but how do you know me? I don't remember us ever meeting each other."

"I used to work for your father when he was in the Intelligence Agency. Both of us did."

"You knew my father?" Lillia said in surprise. The clean-shaven man nodded.

"Yes, we worked under him before he left the service. I'm Lieutenant Frederick Campion."

"I'm Lieutenant Helmut Zimmermann," the goateed man introduced himself. "We're from the Sou-Beil Intelligence Agency." He then turned to Lillia's companion. "You must be the boy Wil always talks about. You're Treize, correct?"

"Err…yes," Treize said with a slight note of embarrassment. "What brings you out here to Vasel?"

"We're working on a big uh…'caper', Treize."

"Smugglers, to be exact," Campion added. "We've been tracking them for months now, but we haven't been able to pin them down just yet."

"Sounds big," Lillia said with surprise.

"It is; from what we've gathered it's an international smuggling ring, based in Sou-Beil and by following their trail we have traced them here."

"I didn't think that this could be a base for smugglers!"

"Bad things happen everywhere and anywhere, Lillia," Zimmermann said sagely. "It doesn't matter what kind of place it is."

"So I see."

"Well, we best get going; we have a lot of leads to look at."

"We should be on our way as well," Treize replied. "We have a seaplane ride today." Zimmermann and Campion smiled and chuckled.

"Have fun with that, you two. If something should happen, give either of us a call. Here is the hotel we're staying at."

Zimmermann pulled out a slip of paper and wrote the address of the hotel on it before handing it to Treize. With that, the two bid each other good day and left to attend to their separate businesses.

* * *

Some time later, Treize and Lillia found themselves in the Klow harbor. The seaplane tour was supposed to be at the edge of the harbor, where there were no ships in the way. Both had been out and about for more than five hours since they woke up and this was meant to be the big event that would close their day nicely. They walked along the edge of a dock where the seaplane tour was supposed to be.

"What time is it Treize?" Lillia asked casually.

"It's about 4 o'clock. Why?"

"I was just curious. We've been up for a long time. Let's make this the best part of the day." Treize chuckled.

"You got it. The seaplane should be around here someplace."

As they walked along they heard a car drive up behind them. Sure enough, they looked behind them and saw a black sedan drive up to a dock they had passed. The car came to a halt, the brakes screeching slightly. Two men quickly stepped out of the front of the car and the two teenagers got a good look at them. The driver wore a blue fisherman's cap with a gold anchor adorned on the front. He looked to be in his mid-20s with black hair and stone grey eyes. He was clean-shaven and wore a loose fitting brown jacket over a grey collar shirt with matching brown slacks. Out of the front passenger seat came a tall man with auburn hair under a black flat cap wearing a blue long-sleeve turtleneck sweater and black slacks. The two watched as they pulled out a new passenger; he was quite a young man, in his early 20s with brown hair wearing a white dress shirt and brown slacks. From what they could see from their distance, his hands were tied behind his back. Treize looked closely and spotted the man in the blue sweater holding a black polished semiautomatic FN model 1910 pistol. His eyes widened as they escorted the tied up man to the edge of the dock.

"Treize, look!"

The two men pushed the tied up man over the edge of the dock and into the river. His body hit the water with a splash and the two men began to walk back to the car.

"They threw him off the dock!!"

"Something is definitely not right here…"

Treize and Lillia began to walk towards the two men who started to converse with each other. Then Lillia made the mistake of calling out to them.

"What's going on around here? Why'd you throw him into the river?"

The two men turned and saw two teenagers walking towards them. Without saying another word, they made for the car and started the engine then drove straight for them. Lillia and Treize ducked out of the way, Lillia to the right and Treize to the left as the car drove straight through at high speed down the pier. Treize and Lillia tried to run after them but the car was too fast and it was soon out of sight.

"What do you think that was all about?" Lillia wondered, panting after running so fast.

"I can't say. Maybe it has something to do with the smugglers."

Just then, another black car drove up behind them, this time carrying two familiar figures. Lillia and Treize looked and found their two friends from the restaurant.

"Lieutenant Campion!"

"Lieutenant Zimmermann!"

Zimmermann poked his head out of the window from the driver's seat and recognized the two teenagers immediately.

"Lillia! Treize!"

As the two intelligence officers emerged from their car, Treize started to explain what had happened.

"We saw a black car come up behind us and when we looked back we saw two sailors throw a man off the dock."

"We tried to approach them," Lillia went on, "but when they saw us, they took to their car and drove on down the pier."

"Sounds like our suspects," Zimmermann told Campion. "I'll check the water; you check their stories."

Zimmermann calmly walked over to the edge of the dock and looked down. Sure enough, there was a man face down floating in the water not moving. He then turned to Campion.

"Looks like they're right. Campion, call for an ambulance immediately!"

"Right!"

Campion rushed to a nearby phone booth and dialed for emergency services. An ambulance arrived about 20 minutes later while Campion, Zimmermann, Lillia and Treize all tried to figure out what had just happened and if it was connected to the smuggling business. None could come up with a definite answer. Soon the ambulance came and the rescue team fished the unfortunate seaman's body out of the water. Zimmermann searched the body for any evidence that might give some information about the smugglers.

"Well whoever this poor man was, it looks like he might have been involved in the counterfeiting business," Zimmermann spoke upon searching the seaman's body.

"What makes you figure that?" Lillia asked curiously.

"Look what I found in the seaman's pocket."

Zimmerman held out his hand and showed five silver coins and a small crumpled up piece of paper.

"What are those?" Lillia asked. Campion looked at the coins closely.

"Those are counterfeit coins."

"And what's this?" Treize inquired pointing at the small wad of paper.

"It's only a scrap of paper, Treize."

Treize took the paper and unfolded it, finding it to be a torn off label. The label was a deep navy blue with a silver crab superimposed in the center of a yellow circle. Along the edge of the circle read the words **FINE FRESH CRAB** written in Bezelese. Treize raised an eyebrow at the strange label.

"A crab with silver claws…"

"Sorry to jet, you two," Campion apologized ahead, "but Zimmermann and I have to accompany the ambulance. If we're to attain any leads as to what this murder is about, we'll have to examine the body more closely. We'll be back in a short while though."

With that, Campion and Zimmermann boarded their car and sped off, with Lillia and Treize waving goodbye. Once they were gone, however, Treize reexamined the label, sparking Lillia's bewilderment and curiosity.

"What is it, Treize?"

"Don't you find it slightly odd that a seaman would have the label of a crabmeat can in his pocket?"

"Maybe he needed to jot something down on it."

"Let's see…"

Treize looked on the label but found no writing. He then flipped it over so that the white side of the label was facing him and found some scribbling on the back in Roxchean.

"Something's written on the back…"

He examined it closely, narrowing his eyes to make out the letters; the water had made the ink run.

"It looks like it says…'help.' And there's a name on it, Lillia!"

"What's the name?" Treize looked closely trying to figure out what it said. The ink was running very badly.

"I think it says…Charlottenburg." Lillia tilted her head in confusion.

"Charlottenburg? That doesn't tell us much."

"It could be the name of a town, or a person's surname, or the name of a ship. All we have to do is figure out which one it is."

"How do we do that?"

"I don't know. I need to think about this a little."

Treize turned and started to walk along the pier, staring intently at the label that had started to turn this vacation into a mystery. Lillia soon joined him, trying to contemplate what they had just witnessed and tried to make sense of what was happening, wondering how this would affect their time here in Vasel. From aboard a freighter docked in the harbor, two men watched the teenagers from above. One man had black hair and grey eyes, wearing a blue fisherman's cap with a gold anchor embroidered on the front wearing a brown jacket and matching slacks. His name was Karl Steiner. At 24 years, he was the youngest captain of a merchant vessel on the continent. He had joined the business only three years before, a mere first mate of 21 to a sick ailing captain of 67 years. The former captain had badly mishandled their end of the business, almost resulting in them all caught. Ever since the old captain had been sacked he was placed in charge. This was his first official run at the head of a ship and he wanted to make sure nothing was missed and nothing would interfere in business. He looked closely at the two children and recognized the boy with shaggy black hair; the one that Criminal 42, once a good friend of his, tried to nab in the train plot of little over several months ago. His eyes narrowed. The boy was sharp, and quick thinking. He could easily catch on to their business. He turned to a seaman wearing a black sweater and brown slacks.

"Those two kids saw me and Drayman dump Johnson's body into the river."

"Do they know about our business?" asked the seaman.

"Can't say."

"You've seen them before?"

"I got a good look at one of them; it was the kid that Criminal 42 tried to get last spring." The seaman looked at him in surprise.

"You mean he's—!"

"Yeah. Treize Bain. The prince of Ikstova."

"What about that girl with him?"

"I suspect his girlfriend."

"What should we do with them, Captain Steiner?" Steiner turned a grey eye to the seaman looking at him with a stare of steel.

"That should be obvious. Get rid of them." The seaman hesitated for a moment upon hearing those last four words but one cold glare from Steiner's stone grey eyes made him salute him firmly.

"Aye, sir."

"And be sure to make it look like an accident."

With that, Steiner walked away, leaving the seaman alone on deck. He looked around for something that would kill them without arising suspicion of a murder. He soon spotted something he could use when he looked up and saw one of the ship's cranes. The cranes were designed for lifting heavy crates of cargo onto the ship and then lowered into the cargo hold below. If the cargo was dropped from above accidentally, it would certainly kill anyone who happened to get in its way. He then darted his eyes back to the two teenagers walking along the harbor and immediately put his plan into action. He went to the controls of the nearest crane, which happened to be carrying a load of crates. He swung the crane around so the crates loomed over the dock. He waited patiently as the two children came closer, and closer, and closer. Now only a few feet from where the crane loomed, the seaman threw a lever, dropping the crane and its load, coming down on them like a bomb being dropped from on high.

"Any ideas yet, Treize?" Lillia asked her friend again. Treize shook his head disappointedly.

"Nothing yet. My mind is a complete blank."

Just then, Treize heard something that sounded like a chain rattling, and by the sound of it, it was getting closer and closer to him. Treize looked up and saw a pile of crates on a crane plummeting at full speed straight at him and Lillia. Thinking quickly, he tucked the label into his pocket and shouted to Lillia:

"LILLIA, LOOK OUT!"

CRASH!

He grabbed Lillia, wrapping his arms around her midsection and they ducked out of the way of the crates, barely missing them by inches as they crashed on the paved ground. Lillia looked up and saw her friend staring into her bronze eyes with his deep caring brown, black hair hanging over his face and touching the small wire of her light brown hair that she could never keep down. Both of their cheeks were crimson with embarrassment realizing just what an awkward position they was in: Treize was lying right on top of Lillia, with his hands on her arms pinning her down, his knees pressing hard against the pavement on the outside of her legs, rubbing against them. Treize quickly stood up and brushed the dirt and the embarrassment off of him while Lillia slowly stood up and did the same. That churning feeling in her heart was coming around again.

_Treize…Treize saved me…He saved my life. Why…do I have this feeling in my heart? Like I melt at the very sight of him? Especially after something like that? Is this love?_

"That was a close call, Lillia," Treize said, his brown eyes glinting with genuine concern. "Take a look."

Lillia turned and saw a pile of broken crates with cans of crabmeat in them. Treize had pulled her out in literally the nick of time; any later and they would have been deader than four o'clock in the morning.

"That could have been us," Lillia said slowly. "Something's definitely up."

"People don't try to kill you just for sightseeing, Lillia. We _must_ be on to something." Treize then looked closely at the cans of crabmeat, and then pulled out the label in his pocket. His eyes widened and he gasped. The revelation before him hit him like a bomb.

"What's wrong, Treize?"

"Lillia, look closely at the cans! You notice something?"

Lillia looked closely and spotted the similarity instantly; they had the exact same label like the kind found on the drowned seaman.

"The crab with silver claws…"

"Wherever these cans of crabmeat came from, they have to be connected to the death of that poor sailor!"

Lillia nodded firmly, her eyes stern and determined and looked around for any possible clues. She soon found another piece in the puzzle. When she turned to the ship that was closest to them, she spotted the name of the ship written on the stern in Bezelese…

_S.S. CHARLOTTENBURG_

"Treize! I know what the _Charlottenburg_ on the label means!"

"What?"

"It's the name of this ship! Look!"

Treize turned and saw the name of the ship. Suddenly everything fell into place and it began to make sense to him. Everything was adding up.

"Lillia, you know what this means?"

"Whoever the poor seaman was, he must have worked on this ship!"

"Right. We have to call Campion and Zimmermann and tell them what we found out. I'll go phone them now."

As Treize started to walk to a nearby phone booth, Lillia grabbed him by his black jacket. Treize turned around and looked at her in slight bewilderment.

"What's wrong Lillia?"

_I have to show him…I have to give him something to show my appreciation…to show him how much he means to me! I can't let his good deed go unrewarded!_

Without saying a word, Lillia planted a soft kiss on his left cheek, leaving him in a mixture of shock and delight. He couldn't remember the last time he received a kiss from her since the day they first met, and he didn't know that she gave him mouth-to-mouth during their time in Tolcasia. To top it all off, he didn't think that she took any notice of him in that regard to begin with. But all the surprise melted away leaving only Lillia's soft, warm lips on his delicate cheek. As he tried to keep himself from melting under the warm pressing of her lips, she pulled away and said quietly,

"That's for saving me back there, Treize." Treize stammered and tried to sound out words he wanted to find to say.

"O-of course Lillia. I'll do it always for you."

"You mean that?"

"With all my heart."

Treize then left her to call up Campion and Zimmermann while Lillia was left unnerved and trying to figure out what to say to him next.

_Why do I feel…like there is something that has to be said to him? Why do I want to run out to him right now? What is this I'm feeling?_

Up on deck, Steiner had seen the whole attempt to kill them and flew into a wild rage at the seaman for bungling the job.

"You clumsy oaf! You missed them!!" Steiner slapped him across the backside of the head as a punishment for his mission failure.

"Sorry, sir. The kids jumped out of the way at the last minute."

"Excuses, excuses! Get rid of those kids or I'll get rid of YOU!!!"

"Uhh…aye-aye, sir."

About 10 minutes later, Campion and Zimmermann had arrived at the dock with new revelations from examining the body. Based on identifications found in his wallet, the unfortunate seaman's name was Albert Redwood Johnson, a man of 26 years who had previously been working aboard a cargo ship known as the _Charlottenburg_, the name scribbled on the scrap of paper found in his pocket. Based with the knowledge and the near-death experience Lillia and Treize had just went through, they were on the track of a murder case. There was no clear indication yet as to whether it was connected with the smuggling ring. They began to walk towards the gangplank leading to the deck of the ship as Steiner and a seaman watched worried.

"Dammit, those two Intel agents are back," Steiner said in frustration, pounding his fist on the railing.

"Sir, they're coming aboard!"

"I'll handle the questions; you take care of Treize and Lillia."

"Aye, sir."

The four friends soon came up on deck and the two lieutenants turned to their young companions.

"Let's split up. We'll find the captain and ask him some questions. You look around for more clues."

"Right."

The two lieutenants took two further steps on the deck before coming face to face with Steiner. Steiner looked at the two men and smiled, nodding in acknowledgement of their presence.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen," Steiner said calmly. "What can I do for you?"

"Allow us to introduce ourselves," Campion offered. "I'm Lieutenant Frederick Campion."

"I'm Lieutenant Helmut Zimmermann," Zimmermann followed up. "We're from the Sou-Beil Intelligence Agency. We're in the midst of an investigation concerning the drowning of a sailor and thought you could answer some questions we'd like to ask."

"Certainly, gentlemen. Follow me to my cabin and we'll talk there."

"You two go on ahead," Treize said to Zimmermann knowingly. "We'd like to take a little…_stroll_ up on deck."

"We'll meet you back here then," Zimmermann agreed, knowing what Treize had planned.

"Right."

Steiner accompanied the two uniformed men towards his cabin while Lillia and Treize scouted around to the area of the cargo hold. Treize expressed his suspicions about the reception by Steiner and his crew.

"It didn't seem like Captain Steiner was pleased to see us," Treize said his eyes narrowing as they continued down the steps into the ship.

"What do you think it means?" Lillia asked looking at Treize with concern.

"Well whatever these guys are up to, it's obvious they don't want us in on their business."

"You think these guys are the smugglers?"

"I don't know…"

They went down into a store room in the cargo hold and opened a door, finding several crates inside, some with the lids already taken off, and showing cans of crabmeat inside. Treize knew in an instant what they had to do next. He turned to Lillia while approaching the crates and said, his brown eyes shining like the stock of a new rifle,

"If we can get a look inside one of those crabmeat cans, we might find out what this whole business is about."

"Are you sure, Treize?"

"To be honest, I'm not, but it might let us in on if these guys are smugglers or not."

Treize approached the open crate in front of him and took a good look at a can of crabmeat he picked up from the crate. He examined again, noting the ocean blue field with the yellow circle on the front, the crab with silver claws staring intently at him as if contemplating what kind of existence he led, what sort of place he occupied in this life. He looked on the top of the tin and saw a tab on the lid. He moved his finger near the tab, his hand trembling slightly.

"Let's find out what's really going on around here…"

Just as he put his finger on the tab, he felt a blow to his head and everything went black. He fell to the ground with a thud. Lillia turned and saw the man who had knocked him out. He had a black flat cap on his head, a blue long-sleeved shirt and black slacks; in his hands he held a brown blackjack. Before she could scream or cry or say anything more, the seaman hit her first in the stomach before knocking her out over the head as well, sending her down to the floor.

"That's the end of that…"

Up on deck, Campion and Zimmermann had concluded their interrogation of Captain Steiner, and were now heading ashore.

"So to summarize, you say that the seaman in question once worked on your ship but you let him go for drunkenness and disorderly conduct. You never heard of what had happened to him since then, correct?"

"That is correct gentlemen. Sorry I can't provide you with further information."

"It's quite all right, Captain Steiner. Also how do you attest to the crane incident with our friends earlier?"

"Well this ship is old and hasn't been refitted in a while. The cranes are a particular problem and they can sometimes drop loads unexpectedly. When we disembark in Bolse tomorrow, we have a scheduled refitting that will replace the old cranes.

"I see. Everything else seems to be in order otherwise. Thank you very much for your time."

Campion and Zimmermann made it to the gangplank but found that Lillia and Treize were not there. Campion turned to a seaman with raised eyebrows.

"Where are our friends Lillia and Treize?"

"Oh them?" the seaman said innocently. "They went ashore about 5 minutes ago; said they couldn't wait. They'd give you a call later."

"Oh. Well good day to you gentlemen and thank you again for the time."

Campion and Zimmermann then turned and went down the steps, heading ashore. Campion however couldn't help but feel that they had overlooked something. Zimmermann could tell Campion was worried just by the look he had on his face, a look that said something was amiss. Zimmermann turned to his colleague and longtime friend and asked him in concern,

"Something on your mind, Fred?"

"Something just doesn't seem right about what happened, Helmut. I can feel it."

"What do you mean?"

"Just the way that Steiner greeted us I could tell he didn't want us here. And there's something fishy about his story. Also it's not like Lillia and Treize to leave abruptly without even saying goodbye."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying there's something wrong here."

"Should we go back?"

"We'll just arouse more suspicion from the crew. We have to head back to Sou-Beil and take up the search in Bolse. We'll get the next train ticket tomorrow."

On the ship, Steiner waited until Campion and Zimmermann were out of sight before turning to one of the seamen.

"Are Lillia and Treize taken care of?"

"Yes, sir. We tied them down in the cargo hold where we found them."

"Good, good. We better shove off before those two detectives come back. All hands prepare to cast off!"

"Aye, sir!"

All hands assumed their stations and started throw off the moorings of the ships and the anchor was weighed. The _Charlottenburg_ blew its steam whistle as Captain Steiner entered the wheelhouse on the bridge.

"All engines, slow ahead."

"Aye-aye sir," responded the quartermaster at the helm.

He went to the telemotor on his right side and pulled the lever so the arrow pointed at **SLOW AHEAD**. The ship soon started to move away from the dock and head out to the wide and deep Lutoni River. Captain Steiner looked to his left and saw dark clouds looming over the river, hanging and casting a dark grey glow in the sky. He could tell they were in for a rough trip this time, so it was best to proceed with caution and take the ship slow and steady.

"Captain Steiner, what should we do about our guests?"

"We'll have to wait and get a call from the boss in order to find out. Until then, we keep them on the ship."

"Aye-aye, sir."

As the _Charlottenburg_ slowly began to leave Klow harbor, Lillia and Treize remained unconscious in the store room down in the cargo hold, their hands tied up and the door marking their entrance and exit locked from the outside. Whatever would come next was impossible to tell but one thing was certain: their peaceful vacation was about to take an unexpected turn.

* * *

A/N: Well there's the second chapter! I gots you all on the edges of your seats now, yes? Good! That's what I wanted. And you can expect a lot more surprises and the big secret over who these guys are in the next chapter: _Battle of the Charlottenburg_!! So stay tuned for the next chapter in Lillia and Treize's wild adventure! In the meantime read and review like with any other story. Until next time!


	3. Chapter 3: Battle of the Charlottenburg

**A/N:** You are probably all wondering just who in hell these guys that kidnapped Lillia and Treize are. Well, read and see! :D

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* * *

Chapter Three: Battle of the Charlottenburg

The _Charlottenburg_ was now out of port and heading up the vast Lutoni River towards Bolse, the major port city in Sou-Beil. However it was also the farthest north, so that meant the ship had to sail up the river towards the port. However the crew had done this run many times before and had encountered no problems…yet.

Treize was the first to stir and found that Lillia was resting her head on his shoulder. He blushed slightly but could instantly tell that she was still unconscious. He tried to raise his hand to nudge her, but found that both his hands were tied with twine. Treize looked down and could see that her hands were tied too. He sighed in exasperation.

"Great. How do we always get into these messes?"

As if on cue from those words, Lillia stirred and her eyes fluttered open and found herself leaning on Treize. She quickly backed off, her face bright red.

"OH! I'm sorry, Treize!"

"Never mind that now," Treize said seriously. "We got bigger problems."

"What do you—Treize! My hands are tied!"

"I know. So are mine. Whoever knocked us out must have tied us up here."

"What's going to happen to us now!?" Lillia said, frightened and uncertain.

"I don't know. But whatever is going on, it obviously means bad news for us."

At that, the cargo door lock turned and the door opened slowly with a creak. In stepped three men: In the middle, the captain Karl Steiner wearing his blue fisherman's cap white shirt and brown jacket with matching slacks. Next to him on his left was a clean-shaven man wearing a blue turtleneck sweater black slacks and a matching flat cap while on Steiner's right was a heavy set man wearing a purple sweatshirt with black slacks and a brown flat cap. All smiled and chuckled at their tied down intruders.

"Welcome aboard, kids," Steiner said boasting a crooked smile. "Enjoy your…stroll?"

"It was fine," Lillia said scowling. "Excuse us for not getting up." One seaman laughed. Steiner shot him a glare which shut him up instantly.

"How much do they know about the shipment?"

"Enough to know that you KILLED someone for it!!" Treize spluttered with glaring eyes. Steiner chuckled.

"You mean Johnson? Well he wasn't the first, and he definitely wasn't the last."

"Are you going to do the same to us?"

"Well that all depends, my little friend. We have to ask the boss what to do with you two. Until then, you'll stay here with us."

"What are you guys up to anyway?!" Treize demanded, his brown eyes hard as steel.

"We don't have to tell you that," Steiner said matter-of-factly as he and his accomplices walked out. "You both know better than we do."

"But…"

SLAM!!

The door closed shut and they were alone again. Treize and Lillia looked around the room they were in and tried to figure what to do next. There didn't seem to be any apparent way out of the room. Everywhere they looked they saw crates that were filled with those mysterious cans of crabmeat. Treize felt his shirt collar cling to him with the sweat from nervousness as he tried to figure a way to get out of this situation they had just stumbled into.

"Don't you find it odd that we always seem to end up in situations like this?" Lillia inquired, trying to pass time.

"I know. It's a mystery to me. We always seem to look for trouble."

"Got any plans to get us out of this one, Your Highness?" Treize ignored the last two words and tried rolling over in his mind what they could do.

It was apparent that the crew wasn't intent on keeping them. Whatever happened, they would eventually end up the same as Albert Johnson if they didn't do something. The only thing they could do was try to get off the ship without being discovered; what these people were up to was not essential knowledge. Once they were off the ship they would head to the nearest port city and contact the police there. Hopefully they might run into Campion and Zimmermann once they reached land. Still all that planning would amount to nothing if they didn't get themselves untied and out of their prison first.

"Well whatever we do, we have to get off this ship and inform the police."

"How are we going to do that?"

"I don't know yet. First things first though: we have to get ourselves untied."

Treize reached as best as he could for a pouch on his utility belt and opened it, his hands still tied together. He felt around in the pouch trying to find something which sparked Lillia's curiosity again.

"What are you looking for Treize?"

"A pocketknife."

"You carry a pocketknife with you?" Lillia said slightly struck by this new information.

"Of course; I always carry one with me when I'm on the road…there we are." Treize smiled in triumph and pulled out his pocketknife, showing it off to Lillia before looking down at his tied hands. "Now to cut the bonds…"

It was a little hard trying to open up one of the retractable blades with his hands tied by the twine but he somehow managed to get one blade open. He tried to position the blade to cut through the twine but he fumbled and dropped it, causing Lillia to groan.

"We're doomed…"

"Not if I have anything to say about it!"

He reached down for the knife and grabbed it, again trying position the knife correctly. Again he lost his grip on the knife and it fell to the floor. This went on for another five tries until finally he got it in the right position to cut through the twine. Using the thumbs and forefingers on his hands, he moved the knife up and down slowly, taking his time with cutting the twine. His ears couldn't hear the blade penetrate through the fabric, drowned out by the whir of the engines below him but he looked closely to see it start to cut through each strand. He counted as one strand of twine after another gave way to his sharp blade.

_One…Two…Three…Four…_

"I can feel it…it's about to break!"

With a soft snap, the last strand broke and his hands were cut free from his bonds. He quickly tended to Lillia and quickly cut her bonds as well. They stood up and looked around to try and find a way out of their floating prison. Treize tried to open the door leading to the corridor but the door would not open. Lillia gave Treize a hand as well but still the door would not budge; it only opened from the outside.

"Looks like we're trapped," Treize said sighing.

"What do we do now? How are we going to get off the ship?"

"I still don't know. I have to think about this."

"Well in that case, maybe we should see if these crabmeat cans actually have crabmeat."

Treize beamed instantly.

"Lillia, you are a genius!"

"I-I am?" Lillia said startled, looking at her friend with a raised eyebrow.

Treize immediately went for a crate and pushed it in front of the door, barricading themselves inside. Lillia looked at him like he was crazy.

"Idiot! Why did you do that?!"

"In case they come back and want to do to us what they did to Johnson. And besides, if that's food in those cans, we can hold out here for days."

Without saying another word, Lillia found a crowbar and started to pry open the crates. Treize lent her a hand and the lid of one crate quickly came off, showing the cans of crabmeat inside. Treize pulled out his pocketknife and drew out a can opener and handed it to Lillia who promptly cut open the lid of her can before he did the same. When they looked into the can, both gasped and stared wide-eyed, saying in unison in shocked voices:

"This isn't crabmeat! This is…is…"

Inside the cans were shining glimmering diamonds where the crabmeat should be. The jewels reflected the light so brightly they were almost blinded and shone an almost heavenly glow brightening the prison they were in. as the diamonds sent flashing lights dancing in their eyes, everything suddenly became clear. It added up. Albert Johnson. The message on the crabmeat label. How they were almost killed by the crates. Campion and Zimmermann's case that had brought them to Vasel. Everything fitted together. Treize turned to Lillia, finding her bronze eyes still fixed to the diamonds in the crabmeat can. He noticed that the light shining from the diamonds made her look even more beautiful than ever. Her eyes seemed to twinkle like the stars on a bright winter night in Ikstova and her light brown hair shone brightly giving an almost angelic aura. He shook his head violently bringing himself back to the here and now and opened his mouth to speak, finding it hard for him to relate to her the shocking truth of what they had stumbled upon.

"Lillia…we…we just…"

"We got mixed in with the smugglers," Lillia said, knowing what Treize was going to say. "The ones Campion and Zimmermann told us they were after. And as it turns out, they smuggle diamonds."

"Yeah. Lillia, you know what we have to do now."

"Get off this ship, I know. But how are we going to do that?"

Treize thought for a moment and then looked at the pulled off lid of the crate they had opened. Suddenly he formed a bright idea in his mind.

"I have a plan."

Treize got down on his knees and pried off two boards from the crate lid and got out some rope from his utility belt. Making the two boards form an X shape, he then tied them together so that they folded in and out. Lillia watched in wonder, bewildered as to what exactly he was planning.

"T-Treize?"

Treize then walked over to a porthole on the opposite end of the hold and poked his head out. The first thing that struck him was that evening had come about and the night sky was lit up with bright stars and a shining crescent moon. They must have been out for a long time for so many hours to pass. Then he looked downward and saw the freshwater Lutoni River below, crashing against the hull of the ship as it steamed on through the night. The light of the moon reflected back onto the water and sent shimmers of light, waltzing in his eyes. Then he looked up and saw an open porthole above him with a yellow light emanating from inside. He smiled, relieved that his plan just might work. He brought his head back in and explained to Lillia quickly.

"Lillia, we have to get off this ship as quickly as possible and get a message to the police. In order to do that we have to get out of this hold and to the upper decks."

"How are we going to do that?" Treize then showed her the two boards tied with rope.

"There's a porthole above us. I'll throw this into the porthole and then we'll climb up the side of the ship and into the room above us. When we're there, we'll head to the upper decks and sneak off the ship in a lifeboat." Lillia only chuckled lightly.

"How is it that you manage to think of every escape plan so easily?" Treize blushed and rubbed the back of his head, slightly embarrassed at the compliment.

"I-it's nothing really. I-I g-guess I can think quickly. Now let's get going before Steiner and his men come back."

Little did they know that Steiner and two seamen were already heading towards the hold. They had received their orders on what to do with Lillia and Treize via a radio message from headquarters back in Bolse:

_Send T and girl to the bottom._

Two seamen carried ropes tied to lead weights that were meant for Lillia and Treize. They would do to them what they did to Albert Johnson; nothing would interfere or compromise their business. They soon came to the door and Steiner tried to open it up but had little success in doing so. Steiner was rightfully confused. He tried to open the door again and pushed hard but alas the door would not budge. Then he pounded on the door calling to the two prisoners inside.

"Open up, kids!"

No answer.

"I said open up!"

Still no answer. This time he pounded hard on the door and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"OPEN THIS DOOR BEFORE I BLAST IT OPEN!!"

Silence. Steiner growled and turned to one of the seamen.

"Get me some dynamite! I'm going to blast that door!"

"Aye-aye, sir."

The seaman set down his rope and lead weight and ran back up top to fetch the dynamite.

Meanwhile, Treize aimed his roped boards at the open porthole above him for the third time, twice before having it come back and hit him on the head. He then threw it up with all his might and to his delight and Lillia's great cheer, it landed inside. Treize then pulled on the rope and felt it resist his strength. He looked to Lillia and nodded firmly, indicating that it was safe to travel up.

Treize slipped out of the porthole first and firmly set his feet on the ship's hull, taking five steps up. Lillia quickly followed and came right behind Treize and smiled at him, indicating that she was ready. Treize smiled back and nodded and they slowly climbed up the side of the ship, being careful not to lose their footing and fall into the river. One wrong step and they would fall several feet to a watery fate. Soon they were only a few steps away from their intended destination and Treize grabbed at the edge of the porthole. He pulled himself in and back flipped onto a bunk. Then he poked his head back out the porthole and offered a hand to Lillia who took it without question. He then proceeded to pull her up and into the room. Lillia was now halfway in and Treize pulled hard, sending her flying through the porthole door and onto Treize as they both fell on the bunk.

Both were in a very awkward position. Lillia lay right on top of Treize, her face inches away from his, her legs spread apart with him in-between, holding herself up with her hands on his chest. Their cheeks flushed bright red and Lillia backed off.

"Are you all right Treize?"

"I think so. What about you?"

"I'm all right." She then looked up and looked at the room they had stumbled into.

There was a lamp hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the room above a square table with a whisky bottle and shot glass in front of a wooden chair. To the left, she saw a desk with a table lamp, some pens and an open book with some Bezelese writing scribbled inside. She then looked to the front where she saw a tall thin chest of drawers to the right of door where a lamp resided.

"We must be in the cabin of one of the crew members."

Treize stood up and walked over to the desk, looking over the book. He read a few lines.

_Saturday, June 5__th__, 3306_

_We moored in Bolse again today and unloaded our shipment. Upon delivery, I received my usual 10 percent of the profits, coming out this time to 1,250,000 Bezelmarks, the highest I have been paid for a shipment yet. Upon dividing the payment amongst my crew I was left with 450,000 Bezelmarks. Not bad for another ordinary shipment._

"This is the ship's log," Treize said slowly, motioning for Lillia to come and read what his eyes were scanning over in wonder and astonishment.

He turned to the frontispiece of the book and found some Bezelese scribbling on the bottom. He looked closely and his eyes widened.

_PROPERTY OF KARL STEINER, CAPTAIN OF THE S.S. CHARLOTTENBURG_

"It's the captain's log! We've stumbled into the captain's cabin!"

"What should we do Treize?!" Lillia said worriedly.

"Don't worry; the crew still thinks we're inside the hold. Maybe if we read a little of the log, we can find out what happened to Johnson."

Treize turned to a page and read the date out loud.

_Wednesday, June 13__th__, 3306_

"This was written yesterday…"

_I can tell that Johnson is up to something. He did not say a word to any of us since we docked in Klow yesterday. I heard one of the men saying something about him planning to quit the crew or transfer to another ship. I suspect it has to do with our business; he gives a disapproving look and keeps silent whenever I call the crew to go over our shipments. It would be best to at least keep a watch on him should he decide to quit after all._

As Treize continued to read aloud, little did he know that a crew member outside had overheard them and was running down the gangway to the cargo hold where Steiner and two seamen were preparing to blast the door with a pack of dynamite. He came running and shouting to get his captain's attention.

"Captain Steiner! Captain Steiner!"

Steiner turned to him, obviously slightly annoyed that he was interrupting.

"What is it, Krautz?"

"Sir, the kids are up in the captain's cabin!" Steiner's eyes widened and shot a fiery glare at Krautz.

"WHAT?! HOW DID THEY GET UP THERE!?!?!"

Without wasting time with further inquiry, Steiner himself raced up the stairs to the next floor above, taking out his Walther P-38, running to the door. Before he opened the door to surprise them, he listened closely to what they were saying in the room, which was really just Treize continuing to read the ship's log…

…_this operation has to be perfect and covert. No one can know about it outside our organization. That is why anyone who threatens our business, whether from the organization itself or from the outside, must be eliminated. This is the price of conducting business. I shall go ashore tomorrow and see just what Johnson is really planning. If he shows any signs of placing our operation in jeopardy, he will be dealt away with immediately._

Steiner gasped. They were reading about Johnson and what he planned to do to him. If they read any more, they would definitely know too much. He scowled and called out to them in there.

"Open up!"

"Uh-oh," Treize said worriedly. "It's the captain…"

"Open this door before I break it down!"

"Hurry, Lillia, we got to get out of here!"

With that, Steiner opened the door wide and took a step into the room, pointing his Walther P-38 at the two young people.

"HOLD IT!"

Thinking quickly, Treize picked up the whisky bottle on the table and threw it, hitting the light hanging from the ceiling and leaving the entire room in blackness.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Steiner reached for the light on the chest of drawers and turned it on, only to find the room empty. There was no sign of Lillia and Treize; it was as if they disappeared. He then spied the two boards roped together in the porthole. Steiner scowled, thinking that they had escaped back down into the cargo hold.

"Dammit, they got away again!"

Krautz came into the room, toting a FN Model 1910 pistol, looking ready to strike a blow.

"Where did the kids go?"

"They slipped out the porthole back to the store room."

"Cunning little brats, aren't they sir?"

"They're still just a couple of kids. I'm going back down and blasting my way in; you stay here in case they come back."

"Aye-aye, sir."

Steiner ran back down the stairs to the cargo hold door, the dynamite still in place. He pounded on the door and called them out.

"Treize! I know you're in there with your little girlfriend! If you open up right now, we'll talk to the boss and see if he can't let you go easy."

No answer from inside.

"If you kids know what's good for you, you'll open this door!"

Still no answer. He banged on the door three times.

"You ought not to go sticking your noses in someone else's business!"

There came nothing. There was only the silence.

"For the last time, kids, OPEN UP!"

When no answer came, he got out a match and struck it, making an orange flame burn brightly.

"Fine, I'll open it the hard way."

He lit the fuse on the dynamite and then stood back as he waited for it to blow. He didn't have to wait long.

BOOM!

The dynamite exploded and blew the door wide open, leaving the blast are mangled and twisted. Damages that could be easily repaired. He pulled out his Walther P-38 and walked in. He looked around in the room and saw no obvious signs of Lillia or Treize. He searched every nook and cranny of the room only to find it empty. Then he spied the open crate and saw two crabmeat cans on the ground, both opened and empty. They had taken diamonds with them.

_Dammit! Now those kids have evidence to give to the police! Now they're dead!_

Steiner immediately turned around and ran up the stairs back to the captain's cabin, finding the door open. He looked inside and the sight he found made his face red with rage. Bolted to the chair, Krautz had been tied with rope and his mouth gagged by a white handkerchief. Also the belt that carried his pistol and ammunition was gone. He looked just as helpless and as shocked as Steiner was at all this.

"WHAT?!!"

"Mphmfffmph!!"

"YOU GOOFED AGAIN, YOU BUMBLING NITWIT!!" he yelled as he tore off the handkerchief and as Krautz tried to explain.

"The kids were hiding under the bunk!"

That landed him a straight punch across his face, leaving Steiner more incensed than ever.

"ALIBI! Get me those kids or YOU go over the side!"

"Uhh…aye-aye, sir."

Steiner grabbed a knife from a drawer in the desk and cut through Krautz's ropes and gave him a C96 pistol to replace his stolen one.

"Those kids stole some diamonds from the cans. If they get those diamonds to the police before we get them back, we're doomed."

"What should we do then, sir?"

"We've got to get rid of those kids. We'll search this whole place from top to bottom and when we find them, we do what the boss told us to do."

Krautz and Steiner along with a few other seamen ran up to the boat deck, searching up and down the ship to try and find the refugee children that had stumbled on their business. Steiner had only just turned a corner and found that the door to the radio room was open. He smiled, thinking he had them cornered now. He stacked against the wall and slowly crept up, coming to the right of the doorway before quickly jumping to the right and aiming his P-38 into the room.

"Hands up, kids!"

To his surprise and frustration, no one was in the room, but there were signs of a struggle. Down on the ground was his radio operator, Franz Heidrich, seemingly unconscious. His headphones had been taken off and papers lay all about him, muddled and disorganized and saw that the telegraph key on the table had been opened and used. It could only mean one thing: Treize and Lillia had broken in and gotten word to the authorities. Steiner's face grew red again as he raced out the door to try and find someone. He came to another corner and peeked out, seeing a familiar body near a door leading down to the crew's cabins. He could tell he was very young with shaggy black hair and wearing a black leather jacket and olive green slacks tucked into black boots. He had found him.

He pulled out his P-38 and advanced slowly, coming up behind him so that he was in front of the door.

"Looking for somebody, kid?"

Treize gasped and turned around, putting his hands in the air.

"Where's your little girlfriend?" Treize said nothing. Steiner grew incensed and grabbed him by the shirt collar. "You heard me, kid! Where's the girl who was with you!?!"

"Y-y-you mean Lillia?"

"I'm tired of playing games with you, Treize! You've had it!" He released his grip from him and then called to someone down below. "Hey sailor, bring me that lead weight!"

Treize pushed him hard in the chest and he tripped on something, sending him falling down the flight of stairs hitting his head on the hard metallic floor. He looked up and saw Lillia and Treize looking down at him with smirks on their young bright faces, trying to restrain themselves from laughing.

"Nice work, Lillia," Treize complimented his companion. "Now let's get off this tub!"

"Right. See you later, Captain Steiner! Thanks for the lift!"

"I'LL DUNK YOU BOTH INTO THE DRINK FOR THIS!!"

At that moment a sailor came up behind him carrying a rope and lead weight.

"I brought it just like you asked sir. What shall I do with it?" Steiner stood up and looked at the sailor with a scowl.

"Put it in your pocket and jump overboard, you idiot! GET LILLIA AND TREIZE!!"

"Aye, sir!"

"And get everyone on the bridge; this is a special emergency."

"Aye-aye, sir."

About 15 minutes later, a meeting was called on the ship's bridge as Steiner gave a short impassioned speech to the crew telling them of his plan.

"If we don't get rid of those kids, the boss is going to get rid of us! If we want to keep our jobs in this business, we have to find those kids and scuttle them. I'm going to turn this tub inside out until I find them!"

The crew agreed to search the ship from top to bottom, starting topside and going further into the ship until they found them. Steiner was accompanied by Krautz as they checked the boat deck over and over, searching for any signs of the two young teenagers.

"Nothing over here, sir," Krautz said after checking some barrels in between the first and second mates' quarters.

"Well they couldn't have gotten far. They can't get off the ship."

Krautz then looked behind him and saw one of the lifeboats sitting on the deck, covered by white canvas sheets and held on either side by the lifeboat davits. Krautz began to wonder and started towards the lifeboats, almost touching the cover when Steiner turned and saw him.

"Krautz! Turn to and cover every inch of this ship! They're here and we're going to find them!"

"Uhh…aye-aye, sir."

Steiner and Krautz returned to the bridge where they received reports from the other search parties.

"No sign of them sir."

"Nothing in our area."

"Neither hide nor hair of them to be found, sir."

"No trace of them."

"Well, they're obviously not on deck," Steiner reasoned. "Let's go below."

With that, the entire crew armed with pistols traveled down the gangway into the ship, leaving only the helmsman and the overseer of the bridge on deck.

When the door behind them had closed, two eyes peeped out from under the sheet covers of one of the lifeboats. They were brown, wide and piercing sharply into the night sky and air. The eyes disappeared and the owner of the eyes turned to the owner's companion, a brown-haired bronze-eyed girl of 16.

"They've gone below. Now's our chance."

"Then let's get out of here, Treize."

Treize nodded and pulled back the sheet covers of the boat, cranking out the davits and bringing the boat out from its position on the deck. They then took the fall lines attached to the pulleys on the davits and slowly, quietly, lowered themselves into the black watery darkness below them.

Two hours later, after searching the entire bottom of the ship, the crew emerged onto the boat deck again, bewildered as to what could have happened to the two intruders.

"You think maybe they came out on deck while we were searching below?" asked one seaman.

"Maybe they decided to save us the trouble and take their chances in the river."

"That would be too stupid a choice," Steiner rebutted. "The water is too deep and the river is too wide for them to swim across. They would need a boat in order to travel on the river safely."

"Then how do you suppose…"

Just then, their thoughts were interrupted by a seaman rushing to the search party, looking frantic and panicky.

"Captain! Captain!"

"What's the matter, Miller?" Steiner asked, raising an eyebrow. "Can't you see we're busy here?"

"Sir, one of the lifeboats has been launched and lowered!" Steiner gasped and his face grew red.

"WHAT?!!!"

"One of the lifeboat stations is empty!"

"Then that means they left on the lifeboat when we were searching for them below!" a seaman remarked with this revelation. Steiner only grew more incensed at this.

"Those cunning little brats!! I'll get them yet!!"

"Shall we stop the ship and go look for them?"

"No; that would take all night. They have probably rowed miles away from our position by now. I got a better way to deal with them."

* * *

In the Roxchean capital, a middle-aged woman with blonde hair snored quietly, blankets wrapped around her; her sleeping habits had not changed one bit in years. Next to her a man with light brown hair was trying his best to sleep but to no avail. His wife's sleeping habits made it almost impossible for him what with her random kicks and constantly pulling away of the blankets. As he wondered how to pass time, the phone in the living room rang.

_Who could be calling up at this hour?_

He looked at his wristwatch. It was 11:30, far past the call time cut off of 10 o'clock. He groaned and sat up tiredly in the bed. The phone continued to ring which made him more awake and made him more frustrated that someone was interrupting their good night's sleep. He walked tiredly out of the bedroom and into the living room, the only light provided by the crescent moon shining through the windows. He soon found the phone in its usual place on the table and picked it up, yawning.

"Schultz residence."

"_Is this Wilhelm Schultz?"_

"This is he. Who's calling?"

"_Captain M__ü__ller from the Sou-Beil Intelligence Agency. We have some urgent news for you."_

"What about, exactly?"

"_It concerns your daughter, sir, Lillia."_

Wil's eyes shot open upon hearing his daughter's name. Any call he received concerning her must mean that something had happened to her.

"What's wrong? What's happened to Lillia?"

"_Well sir, there isn't any easy way to say this but it seems your daughter and her friend Treize have been kidnapped."_ Wil gasped.

"WHAT?! KIDNAPPED?!"

"_I'm afraid so, sir. They were last seen by Agents Campion and Zimmermann aboard the cargo ship Charlottenburg, apparently helping them investigate the murder of a drowned sailor. They were not seen leaving the ship."_

"Where are they now?"

"_We received a radio distress call sent by Treize from the Charlottenburg about ten minutes ago. The message stated that Lillia and Treize had been taken prisoner on the Charlottenburg and the crew tried to drown them in the river. They were making their escape and would meet with the police in Bolse."_

"Do you have any more information as to their whereabouts?"

"_Not at this time, I'm afraid. We are doing everything we can and we are informing Campion and Zimmermann of this as well. They should be arriving in Bolse by tomorrow."_

"Thank you, Captain. Keep me informed of any further developments."

"_Of course Mr. Schultz. Goodnight."_

The line went silent as he hung up and went back to the bedroom and tried to wake his wife up.

"Allison…Allison…"

"What's wrong…Grandma Moot?"

"It's Lillia, Allison. She's in trouble."

As if on cue, her eyes sprung open at the word "Lillia". She immediately stood up but crashed her head with Wil's and knocked him down onto the floor.

"I'm sorry Wil! I didn't mean to—"

"No…it's all right. I'm used to it," he said rubbing his forehead.

"Well what's happened to Lillia. You said she's in trouble."

"Well I just got a call from someone in Intelligence. Lillia and Treize have been kidnapped."

"Kidnapped?!" she said with great concern in her ocean blue eyes. "By whom?"

"The crew on a ship called the _Charlottenburg_. They were helping two agents investigate into the death of a drowned sailor but they never left the ship. They were taken hostage and were going to be drowned in the river."

"How long have you known about this?"

"I only just got a call. They received word about less than ten minutes ago. Also they got a distress call from the ship apparently sent by Treize. They were making their escape and heading for Bolse."

"We have to find them! And fast!"

She jumped out of bed and headed for the shower room while Wil stood in the room mulling over in his head how it was that their children always managed to get mixed up in situations like this. It was just like how he and Allison often went on wild adventures back when they were young, and how he was almost always dragged along for the ride by Allison and her impulsivity. The old saying was true. Some things just never change. He chuckled quietly and went to his dresser to get out some day clothes.

"Like mother, like daughter."

* * *

A/N: and that's the third chapter, folks! But the fun doesn't stop here; Treize and Lillia have still a ways to go before _this_ adventure is over. Next time, Lillia and Treize run into some trouble on the river in the fourth chapter: _Out of the Frying Pan_! Don't touch that dial and stay tuned. Until the next chapter is up, read and review as always. ^_^


	4. Chapter 4: Out of the Frying Pan

A/N: Our heroes are off the ship, but they should not rest easy. There is yet more danger ahead!! What do I mean by that? Read on....

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* * *

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**Chapter Four: Out of the Frying Pan…**

Treize was the first to wake up to the sound of the water lapping against the sides of the lifeboat they had escaped in. the first thing that greeted his eyes was the morning sky, a bright summer sun beating down on them. It was a beautiful morning. The sky was a vibrant blue and there didn't seem to be a single cloud. He rose, stretching out his arms and looking around, seeing nothing but water. They had been adrift ever since they escaped from the ship last night and almost immediately upon hitting the water, Lillia fell asleep, much to his chagrin; he had to row almost the whole night before he fell asleep too.

He then turned an eye to Lillia, still fast asleep. She looked so beautiful when she was asleep. The morning light made her light brown hair shine with a brilliant glow, almost blinding him. Her face looked so gentle and calm, like all the adventures and tight situations and numerous close shaves they have had together never bothered her in the slightest. He couldn't help but smiled at how peaceful she looked. Even in a time of peril and uncertainty, she maintained her beauty. Treize then looked up to the sky, trying to see God beyond the sky, wondering whether this had been divine intervention. Maybe this whole adventure was intended. In the past, he looked on things like this as a nuisance, serving only to interrupt his moments with her, but he realized during his days in school that all those tough situations they too often got caught in had brought them together. It was because of what had happened to both of them that made them feel the way they do. They always depended on the other, and helped each other whenever it got tough. Perhaps this was God interceding again, and bringing them closer. Perhaps everything that had been tossed their way truly was intended. He smiled and chuckled as he saw a bird cross the sky, flying to a part of the world unknown to him. He wondered what kind of life that bird led, what sort of existence it occupied in this life, and mused if it had a loved one and a family to care for.

_Fly on, little bird. Wherever you are going, I hope you get there, and find what you are looking for. _

He brought his gaze back down to his sleeping companion and gently tapped her shoulder.

"Lillia…"

No answer came from her. Treize tapped her again.

"Lillia, wake up. We have to start rowing."

"Mmm…Treize…"

"C'mon, Lillia. You can't sleep all day you know."

"Just five more minutes please…"

Treize gave her a slight tap on the head, hard enough to wake her up but soft enough not to hurt her. Lillia's bronze eyes fluttered open and met Treize's brown.

"Why'd you have to wake me, Treize? I was having a nice dream too."

"If we want to get to Bolse, we have to keep rowing."

Lillia sighed and grabbed an oar as did Treize and they started rowing. As they did, with the lapping of the water against the wood of their oars, Treize thought now might be a good time to talk to her, and perhaps even open up to her a little more.

"Say, Lillia, what were you dreaming about?" Lillia blushed at the question

"Um…it's nothing really important…"

"You sure about that? I'm certain it must be at least somewhat interesting."

"N-no, Treize. It wasn't really all that interesting anyway…" Lillia assured him, laughing nervously. Her mind was screaming at her:

_You idiot! Why the heck did you say that?!_

"Treize, how long do you think it will take before we reach Bolse?"

"If we go by this boat alone, probably by this evening. If a plane picks us up, in less than a few hours."

"Do you even know in what direction Bolse is?"

"I studied in geography class that it is the port in Sou-Beil furthest to the north. And according to my compass…" He then looked at his compass that he had in a pouch in his utility belt. "…we're heading north."

"Do you always carry a compass with you?" Lillia asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Do you have to ask?" Lillia chuckled and shook her head.

"You always come prepared."

Lillia then looked up in the sky, the bright and hot summer sun beating down on them and reflecting in the ocean, glittering in their eyes. They started rowing northwards to Bolse, wasting away many hours with watching the monotonous sea, floating along alone and solitary on that soft and peaceful main, a smooth and graceful surface of glass, each of them knowing not of what the Goddess of Fate had in store for the two adventurers in the next minute. Both tried to find something to look at to pass time but there was nothing, only the eternal roll of the waves against the hull of their little vessel carrying them in their exodus across the river to the west. Both tried to find words for each other and tried to express their thoughts, their fears, their reservations and deepest regrets but the words did not come. There was only the silence, the river, and their rowing. It was almost as if there was nothing that could be said. How could one talk about anything other than their present status at a time like this? In each mind, a silent war raged.

_I have to tell her. _

_I have to tell him._

_I need to tell her._

_I need to tell him._

_Why is this happening to us? Why does this always happen to us? Why is it that something always interferes just when we are about to say the words, just when we are having the most perfect moment that anyone could ask for, something gets in our way? _

_Can it be that God doesn't want me to be with Lillia? Have I been pursuing a mistake all this time? Is God just testing us and our faith in each other?_

After rowing for more than four hours, both their thoughts were quickly interrupted by the sound of a propeller from not too far away. Lillia looked up from her rowing and saw in the sky something yellow.

"Hey, Treize…"

"Yes, Lillia?"

"Look up in the sky. What is that?"

Treize looked up and saw something yellow circling them in their small boat floating across the river. The yellow blob in the sky started to get nearer and nearer as it circled them. Treize looked hard and squinted his eyes in the sunlight as the yellow thing came down closer and closer. Slowly it began to take shape in front of him. It was a very small single propeller yellow seaplane. The call sign was written on its sides in black lettering in Bezelese: CN3251. In his head, he was cheering seeing this as the reprieve he needed, they needed. Now they could get to Bolse in no time flat, apprehend the smugglers and get back to their vacation. He smiled and turned to Lillia jubilantly expressing the news that deserved rejoice.

"It's a plane! Lillia, it's a plane!!"

At that revelation, Lillia's eyes widened and her mouth turned into a large smile and laughed. She stood up tall in the boat and almost lost her balance before Treize pulled her back down. They then waved to the plane as it circled above them around and around in the sky, shouting up to it to make the pilot hear.

"HEY! HERE WE ARE!"

"LOOK! DOWN HERE! WE SENT THE MESSAGES!!"

"LAND OVER HERE!!! OVER HERE!"

The seaplane banked to the left and now dropping altitude, coming from the north and heading straight at them. Treize instantly sensed something amiss and looked at the plane heading towards them in suspicion.

"He's coming in awful fast for a landing…"

"Not fast enough for me!!" Lillia said happily waving to the pilot in the cockpit of the plane as it came straight at them.

The seaplane was now so low it was almost skimming the water, and still heading straight for the boat. Treize then knew what was happening and pulled Lillia down onto the floor of the boat by her shoulder as the seaplane passed over the boat and climbed into the sky behind them. Lillia immediately got up and looked back at the plane as it regained altitude and was preparing to do a U-turn. She was rightfully angry and red in the face.

"Hey! Watch where you're flying!!"

No sooner had she spoken those words did the plane do a U-turn and was now diving down at them from the south. Lillia shook her fist at the plane and threw all sorts of insults at the pilot for his reckless flying.

"He's coming back!"

"You lunatic! You flying pirate!!"

Treize looked closely at the seaplane as it flew directly at them and could see that on the plane's nose there was a small machine gun. His eyes widened and without a moment's hesitation turned to Lillia and yelled to her just as the machine gun opened up,

"LILLIA, JUMP!"

Both promptly jumped into the water off to their left and in so doing capsized the boat and turned it upside down. The pilot of the seaplane fired the machine gun which threw small splashes into the air and then cast a large string of bullet holes through the hull of the upturned boat practically turning it into Swiss cheese as it flew over and climbed into the air. The pilot, a tall thin mustachioed man of about 22, then picked up the radio receiver on the control panel and called out to base.

"CN3251 to headquarters: I found L and T. I think they've had it. Over." A gruff deep voice answered over the intercom.

"_You think?! You are not paid to think! You better be sure! Check the area! Over."_

The pilot looked down at the boat he had riddled with bullet holes and banked to the left, circling around it the way a vulture would circle a dead carcass.

"_Any sign of life there, CN3251? Over."_

"No sir. None. Request permission to return to base. Over."

"_Permission denied. I must be sure. Land the seaplane and confirm. Over."_

"Roger. CN3251 out."

He dropped altitude and made a landing on the water, pulling up to the right of the shot up overturned lifeboat. He stopped the engine and waited until the propeller slowed down to a complete stop, all the while circling and watching the lifeboat carefully. However there were still no signs of life to be found. It was dead quiet with the only sound being the lapping of river water on the sides of the boat and the seaplane. The pilot opened up the cockpit door and stepped out onto the platform on one of the wings. He looked around. There was nothing nor did he expect there to be anything. He produced a Luger pistol from a holster around his belt and fired three shots at the boat, blasting three more holes. No response of any sort came from under the boat or around. Satisfied, the pilot put the pistol back in his pocket and prepared to board the plane again.

"Good enough for me. Looks like Lillia and Treize have finally met their match."

Then a voice from somewhere to his right said, in a commanding tone,

"All right, mister! Up with your hands, and no funny business!"

He turned around to see his target, Treize, wearing his black leather jacket which was now soaking wet, clinging to one of the supports on the wings and holding an FN model 1910 pistol in his hand, aiming right at the pilot's heart. Taken by surprise, he held up his hands in the air while trying to maintain his balance on the seaplane. Treize looked and saw the pistol tucked away in the holster on the pilot's belt. He knew it was best to disarm the pilot so there wouldn't be any more problems from him.

"Drop your gun! Into the water!"

The pilot took out his gun and then threw it into the river. At that, Lillia emerged from under the lifeboat, her light brown hair clinging to her body and a large smile running from ear to ear.

"Good work, Treize!"

"Thanks, Lillia," Treize said as he got up onto the platform. "Into the plane, mister."

With his hands behind his head, the pilot climbed into the plane as Treize helped Lillia up onto the platform. Lillia tied the pilot's hands together with twine and made him sit to the rear of the plane. Treize then sat in the pilot's seat and then heard a gruff voice call over the intercom.

"_Headquarters calling CN3251. Come in, CN3251. Report on status of targets. Over."_

"Should we answer?" Lillia asked. Treize smiled.

"I got the perfect answer for them."

"_Headquarters calling CN3251. Come in. Over."_ Treize picked up the radio receiver and spoke.

"CN3251 here. Over."

"_Did you check? Are they dead? Over."_ Treize looked to his companion with a mischievous smile and then gave his message.

"Mission accomplished. Over and out!"

Lillia and Treize then laughed together as Treize switched on the engine and opened the throttle. The propeller started up and the seaplane began to move forward, slowly at first as Treize tried to turn it in the direction of north, towards Bolse. Once it faced north, Treize opened the throttle wide and the seaplane accelerated. Treize then pulled up on the yoke in front of him as Lillia grasped tightly on his seat, knowing they were going to take off in a few short minutes.

"Hang on!"

The plane slowly crept up and lifted off the surface of the water, and climbed into the bright midmorning sky, the river water getting farther and farther below them. Soon they were more than 500 feet in the air. At that altitude, the seaplane leveled out and they flew straight on through the bright blue skies towards the north.

"Imagine the look on Steiner's face when he sees the welcoming committee we've set up for him in Bolse," Treize said to Lillia, not looking away from the window.

"As long as I get to pound his face in for locking us up in the hold! By the way, are you sure we're on the right course for Bolse?"

"We're heading north aren't we? That's where we need to go."

As they traveled across the river, the skies grew darker and darker the further north they went. Treize looked and saw that there were dark clouds up ahead, right in their path to Bolse. They both immediately knew that the journey to Bolse was going to be rough. Then a flash of lightning and a crash of thunder made them almost jump through the roof. Treize then turned to Lillia worriedly.

"Looks like we're in for a rough ride."

They flew into the dark clouds, immediately encountering turbulence that shook the whole plane. Lillia's fingernails cut into the fabric of the pilot's seat, her feet frozen to the floor with fear. A bolt of lightning flashed in front of them, blinding them. Treize tried to shield his eyes with one arm but almost lost his control of the plane as it swerved from side to side which combined with the turbulence of the storm, made it feel to them that the plane would be shook apart. Lillia tried to keep herself from being tossed about in the plane. Treize soon regained control of the plane and brought it level with the horizon, or as level as he could tell from the grey clouds. Rain now began to fall against the window, slowly at first before quickly becoming heavy. Treize turned on the wipers to help them see, but the rain came down hard and thick, making it almost impossible to see.

While they were preoccupied with the storm, the pilot had started to undo his bonds. Lillia had tied up the twine badly and made it easy for him to break. Now that his hands were free, he looked to the two young people manning his plane, _his_ plane, and then averted his eyes to a wine bottle lying near one of the doors. He then saw a way to complete his mission. He got up and grabbed the wine bottle, slowly creeping up behind the two teenagers. Lillia then sensed something, like another presence. Of course she knew there was the pilot besides them, but he was tied up. Just to check, she turned her head.

She saw the mustachioed pilot raise a bottle high before swiftly bringing it down, hitting her on the temple and knocking her out instantly. She was thrown against the wall of the plane with a bang causing Treize to look back and see his friend down on the ground unconscious.

"LILLIA!!"

"You're next!!"

With that, the bottle came down on Treize's shaggy ebony black-haired head, knocking him out cold. The pilot dragged his unconscious body off the pilot's seat and placed him on the opposite side of the plane, with Lillia still down for the count behind his seat. He sat down and immediately picked up the radio receiver, calling out to headquarters.

"CN3251 to headquarters. Encountering bad weather south of Bolse, but have accomplished objectives. Bringing in L and T. Over."

"_Good work, CN3251. We'll meet you in Bolse soon. Out."_

The pilot immediately turned to the task of navigating through the thunderstorm and continuing towards Bolse. His leveling with the horizon was good. He was maintaining an altitude of some 650 feet. His bearings were good. He checked the fuel gauge; it was running low. He would not make it to port if he didn't get through the thunderstorm. It would be too risky to open the throttle any wider and lose more fuel. They would continue at the pace they were at until they reached a port to refuel, and get his reward. He had been given a reward of 2,500 Bezelmarks for the job and an extra 1,000 Bezelmarks if he brought them dead. They weren't exactly dead per se, but they would be soon anyway. Besides, 2,500 Bezelmarks was better than nothing.

Lillia slowly opened her eyes and found herself lying on the floor of the plane. The last thing she remembered was how the pilot had hit her in the head with a bottle. She looked and saw that Treize had been knocked unconscious as well, leaning against the wall with his head hung down and strands of black hair hanging in his face. She felt a sudden rise in rage and anger that this pilot had dared knocked out not just her but the closest friend she had in this world.

_How dare he! How dare he knock us both out! How dare he knock Treize out!!!_

She quickly found the bottle that had been the pilot's weapon and grabbed it by the neck, slowly getting up and facing the pilot who was concentrated on what little he could see in front of him. He then turned and saw Lillia holding the wine bottle with strong and menacing catlike bronze eyes.

"Hit a woman with a bottle, will you?!"

With those words, she landed a punch straight to his jaw, along with another to his face, knocking him against the wall. She then raised the bottle up over her head.

"THIS IS FOR TREIZE!"

With that, she brought it down and broke it over his head, knocking him out cold and splashing red wine everywhere. Lillia then dragged the pilot off his seat and set him quickly down to the rear of the plane and went back to the pilot seat, taking the yoke of the plane and trying to get her bearings. The first thing that struck her was the fuel gauge. The red arrow pointed near E on the gauge, which meant bad news for the both of them.

"According to that gauge, we don't have much gas. Let's just hope the plane can get us out of the storm."

_Why am I talking to myself?! I would normally be talking to Treize, but why am I talking to him when I know he can't hear me?_

Lillia looked to Treize and saw that he was still very much down for the count. He looked peaceful like that. Ebony black hair hung in his gentle face. His mouth was slightly open, showing some white teeth. If she didn't know any better, she would say he was sleeping. She smiled at the sight of her friend, and then felt that strange churning feeling again in her heart again. Why does her heart always turn when she saw him or talked to him? She had been feeling this way ever since after the train incident. Since the events of that day, she had a change of heart and not a day passed by when she didn't think of him. Even in school, she constantly chose him for in-class activities, projects, and they went to the same clubs. During their first semester at school together, things had changed between them. They had grown closer. They still never called themselves boyfriend-girlfriend, and Lillia would usually punch someone or something whenever anyone suggested it. But still…

Maybe…maybe…maybe…

_Maybe having a boyfriend isn't such a bad thing after all._

She took her eyes away from Treize and looked back on the fuel gauge. It was now lower than before and very close to the red E on the gauge. Her feelings gave way to fear as her bronze eyes widened and she gasped. She then turned and shouted to Treize's unconscious body.

"Treize, wake up!"

Treize did not move or say a word.

"Treize! Wake up! We're in for some more trouble!"

Still nothing. Not one word from his lips. Not one movement. Not even a twitch.

Then she heard the dreadful sound. The engine started to sputter and the propeller started to slow down. The plane glided silently for a short while as Lillia switched her view between the still propeller and Treize, still unconscious.

"Treize! We're out of gas!"

She looked and saw they had passed through the storm safely and were starting to come out of the clouds, but they were heading towards an open green field, with no buildings in sight. The seaplane was now losing altitude fast, and she tried pulling hard on the yoke to keep the nose of the plane up. Gravity was winning over her in this battle as the nose would not stay up and the plane was heading into a nosedive. She felt her life flash before her eyes as the plane dove down out of the cloudy skies and to the green fields below them. This can't be happening! Was this really happening? This _can't_ be happening! Why now?! Why now at this point in her life, when there was still so much left in this world she had yet to discover?!

_Does everything really end here?!?! Does my life end at only 16 years?! There are so many things left I want to ask! There are so many things I want to say to him! I still haven't told him! I still need to tell him that…that I…!!!_

"WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?!?!"

"L…Lillia…w…what…what's going on? Ow, my head. What hit me?"

Lillia darted her eyes and saw her friend slowly coming to, rubbing his black-haired head.

"Treize, the plane's out of gas! Help me pull the nose up before we hit like a bomb!"

Treize got up to his feet and rushed over to Lillia, gripping the yoke and pulling hard on it, trying to pull up as the plane rocketed down towards the ground. Finally, both finding the strength together in their hearts, they pulled hard on the yoke, bringing up the nose just before they made contact with the earth.

The plane bounced off the ground and flipped over onto its back in the air before bouncing off the ground again, causing it to spin 15 feet in midair, tossing everyone inside around like ragdolls before they made contact with the ground, sliding hard along the ground, flipping over again before coming to a stop and the engine bursting into flames. Lillia found that the plane was flipped over on its back, leaving the inside upside down. Seeing that the engine was on fire, she broke the door open and, dragging Treize with her, headed out of the plane and into the open green fields outside. Lillia then knelt down next to him and saw that he was badly bruised from being tossed around inside the plane. She placed one hand on his smooth cheek, her bronze eyes glistening.

"Please don't be dead…please…please Treize…don't be dead…"

Treize moaned and stirred. Lillia smiled in relief as Treize came to and looked up at her.

"Lillia…are we alive?"

"Yes, very much alive."

Treize stood up and looked at the yellow seaplane, now a burning wreck. Then he remembered about the pilot they had knocked out. Treize got up to his feet and ran into the plane without so much as a word of why. He quickly searched the inside of the plane and found the pilot, still unconscious. He dragged him out of the plane and laid him out a little ways from the burning wreckage. Lillia scowled.

"What did you do that for, you idiot!? That rogue wouldn't have risked his neck for either of us!"

"But we're not rogues, Lillia. And besides, we might get a little more information about what's going on if we take him with us."

"Maybe your right," she said sighing.

She then focused her attention on her surroundings. They had landed in the middle of a great open field with lush green grass, surrounded on some parts by evergreen forests. The fields lay on low rolling hills that extended north and west of them. There wasn't any sign of a house or any sign of civilization. More bad news for the both of them; it would be difficult now to get to Bolse quickly.

"Where are we, Treize?"

"I don't know, but it sure doesn't look like Bolse."

"How did we end up here?" Lillia asked, bewildered and confused.

"The storm must have blown us off course and we just landed in a field when the gas gave out. Looks like we still have quite a ways to go."

"Out of the frying pan and into the fire," Lillia said wearily shaking her head, sending her brown hair into dancing. "We can't make it to Bolse now!" Just then Treize remembered something and his eyes brightened.

"Wait, maybe we can! There's a canteen of water in the plane!"

Treize ran back to the overturned plane, its engine an inferno, leaving Lillia stupefied and her eyes wide with disbelief at his apparent recklessness.

"NO TREIZE! STAY OUT OF THAT BONFIRE!!"

He went inside and just as quickly came back out holding up a canteen in a sling, pointing to it with a bright smile on his face.

"At least we'll have a little water."

"TREIZE! GET AWAY FROM THAT PLANE BEFORE IT BLOWS UP LIKE A FIRECRACKER!!!"

BOOM!

She spoke too soon. The engine exploded in a yellow ball of flames which blew the seaplane apart and threw Treize forward and straight into the lush green grass-covered earth, landing face down in it. Lillia gasped in terror and ran to Treize, fearing the worst had befallen her beloved friend, one of the few people she knew she could trust with her life. He can't be dead! He _can't_ be!!! He couldn't die! Not now, when there was still so much that she wanted to say to him!!

"TREEEEIIIIIIIZZZZEEEEE!!!!"

She knelt down by his side and nudged him, desperate to see him alive, on the brink of tears in the face of the possible death of her dearest and closest friend.

"Treize, please tell me you're all right…"

Treize lifted up his head, now with dirt on his cheeks and a blade of grass stuck in his hair and smiled at Lillia, lifting up the canteen.

"Never even spilled the water."

Lillia smiled wide and placed her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. Treize just chuckled lightly and Lillia whispered in his ear.

"Treize, promise me you'll never make me worry like that again. I can't risk losing you now after everything we have been through together."

"I promise, Lillia. I won't give up on you. Not ever."

"Thank you…"

Treize stood up on his feet and slung the canteen over his shoulder and turned to Lillia, looking into her bright bronze eyes with his brown, glinting now with a determination to finish the business that had been set before them. This time, nothing would stop them from bringing the criminals who had put them through this and more to justice.

"We better get going before night falls," Treize said firmly.

Lillia nodded and Treize then turned her head to the right to view the pilot and wake him up but what he saw made him gasp.

The pilot had disappeared without a trace.

"Lillia! The pilot! He's gone!!"

Lillia looked and saw that Treize was right; no trace of the pilot was to be found anywhere. She then turned back to Treize with uncertain bronze eyes.

"We have to look for him!"

"We better forget about that pilot and head for the coast. Bolse should still be north of us."

"But Treize what if he—" Treize then addressed her sternly.

"Lillia! If we try and look for him we'll just waste more time, time that could be spent getting us to the port to meet with the police! Don't you want those smugglers to be brought to justice?"

"Of course I do."

"Then we can't waste time with the pilot. This is more important right now."

Lillia looked down at her dirty shoes realizing that he was right and it was better to do what he said. They turned away from the plane and started to head what they thought was north. From now on, there was no turning back.

* * *

A/N: Our two little heroes just have the worst of luck, don't they? Out of one bad situation and into another. Then again, it's to be expected of those two lol. Anyway, next time, our friends run into yet MORE trouble in _The Horseman_. Who is the horseman? You'll just have to wait and see. ;-P Read and review as always.


	5. Chapter 5: The Horseman

**Chapter Five: The Horseman**

Several hours had passed, and the summer heat was beating down on the two teenagers as they trudged across the open field, no sign of Bolse anywhere. For a long time, they had said nothing to each other, as they all searched for answers in their heads to questions that still remained unanswered. Lillia coughed, her throat dry, looked to Treize who was still carrying the canteen. Her throat felt rough, coarse, felt like she had being eating rough-cut stones.

"Give me a drink of that water, please, Treize. My throat feels like it's been eating sandpaper."

"Not yet, Lillia. This water may have to last us a week."

Lillia groaned as they kept walking onward, always forward, heading north as Treize's compass held indicated. She wondered what would happen if they actually caught the smugglers successfully in Bolse with Zimmermann and Campion. What would happen after that? Would they go back to Vasel and carry on with their vacation like before? And when that was over, what would happen then?

As if out of nowhere, Lillia suddenly remembered a time when during the semester, she talked with her friend Meg about her relationship with Seron, and how they had come out to each other…

(A/N: The _Meg and Seron_ novels are still in progress, with the latest edition issued on March 10th, so I may-ahem-DEFINITELY have taken some liberties with the facts about their relationship with each other and how they come to be boyfriend/girlfriend)

"_Meg?" Lillia asked her friend in Bezelese._

"_What is it, Lillia?" Meg responded, her dark hair in pigtails dancing as she turned to face her._

"_How did you and Seron get together?"_

_The mouth on her friend's sweet face turned into a smile as she giggled and her dark eyes sparkled, bright stars twinkling on a wintry night._

"_Well you know how he always looks so stoic and unemotional. But one day, shortly before the new semester started, before Treize came to our school, I could tell he really wanted to tell me something important. You have to look hard in order to notice it any change in his face but it was definitely there. I remember he told me that he liked me the instant he saw me, and that he always wanted to be close to me. He told me what he liked about me and then…"she started to giggle, "…he started shaking as he tried to say that he really liked me! He almost fainted as he tried to say the words but I could tell in an instant that he liked me. And I liked him. And so from that point on, we saw more of each other."_

_She blushed slightly as she looked down at her shoes, but then she immediately stared back at her friend and asked her, pointblank,_

"_Lillia, do you like Treize?"Lillia was immediately stunned by that question as her face turned crimson._

"_EEEHHHHH?!?!?!!!"_

"_Do you like him?"_

"_Meg, he is my oldest childhood friend! I have known him since I was two! You know that that."_

"_I know, but do you like him more than that? More as a friend?"_

_Lillia blushed more as Meg's dark eyes twinkled and she looked down at her shoes, thinking to herself about Seron and remembering that day he came out and that ever since he and she spent more time together than they ever did before._

"_Meg…"_

"_I never really knew what it felt like to be loved by someone else other than my parents. To hear someone else say that they love you is a wonderful thing to hear, Lillia. If Treize does tell you how he really feels, then you will understand what a wonderful feeling it is."_

Is having a boyfriend such a good thing, like Meg said?

Ahead of her, Treize was worse off than Lillia. Wearing a leather black jacket did not help much with the heat, and he remembered once asking Seron the very same question about how he and Meg came to be together.

"_I had a hard time coming out to Meg, actually," Seron revealed to Treize without changing his stoic blank expression. "I almost didn't do it, but I received encouragement from my best friend Larry to face her. I used to have a hard time expressing myself around Meg, but thankfully because of all the encouragement from the people I received around me, I managed to finally come out to her. I was surprised that she spotted my attempt to confess so easily. So few people are able to spot it from me, but the fact she did made me firmer in my belief that she was the one."_

_Treize stared in just total amazement at Seron who took a sip of his coffee he had been drinking before turning to Treize with serious cobalt eyes._

"_Treize, I can tell you like Lillia. You do like her, don't you?" Treize was at first taken aback by his being so pointblank and frank but then blushed and rubbed the back of his head, chuckling nervously._

"_Well…to be honest, yes."_

"_Do you like her more than a friend?"_

"_Well…that is to say…"_

"_You do don't you?" Seron said knowingly. "I can tell by that look in your eyes." Treize sighed in defeat, knowing he was cornered by him._

"_You got me, Seron. And it seems to me like she doesn't really care either way."_

"_You might be surprised just how much she does care for you, Treize. But whatever you do regarding her, let me give you some advice: when the time comes, don't hesitate. Just act."_

He had been meaning to do that for some time now, but so many things stood in the way, namely the recent events and the current situation. But when this was all said and done, what would happen then? Would another chance to tell her pass? Would his deepest and most tightly guarded secret still remain secret? Finding out what would happen to either of them was trying to find a needle in a haystack. That questioning in his mind gave way to a blindness that was a result of the summer heat beating down on them.

Why…why…why does this always happen? Why do things always interrupt us? Why do things always get in our way?

They soon came to a slight swale in the earth whereupon Lillia, exhausted after hours of walking in the sweltering sun, collapsed in the dirt.

"Treize…I…I got to stop…I can't go on anymore…please…just rest for a little while."

"Well okay, but just for a little while. We still have a long ways to go."

They both lay down on the dirt on the upward slope of the swale, the dirt a soft bed for them that eased the aches in their backs as they tried to lose their eyes and get some much needed sleep. Lillia was having particular trouble since the sun was glaring in her eyes. Treize looked to her and quickly took off his leather jacket which was bothering him anyway and handed it to Lillia who gladly took it and covered her head and upper body with it, banishing the glare from her eyes and finally being able to sleep comfortably. Treize smiled as he heard a soft moan of pleasure from her as she drifted off to sleep. He rested his head gently on the soft earth and slowly closed his eyes, taking a short respite from the long journey that was ahead of them.

Behind them coming up from the swale, a figure hid in the shadows, looking down on them. It was a man, about 22, with a small thin mustache tugging his upper lip. He quietly slid down the swale and was now right next to Treize, and spied the canteen that was slung around his shoulder. He inched his hand toward it slowly, when Treize stirred. The man quickly withdrew his hand fearing he might wake up, but Treize only shifted himself and turned on his side. The man sighed in relief as he inched his hand again toward the canteen and slowly slipped it off his body, without so much as a stir from him, only the silent sound of his breathing, in and out. With the canteen off him, the man quickly took his leave and disappeared into the shadows, a spirit vanishing in the night.

45 minutes later, Treize was the first to wake up. He then looked to Lillia who still had his jacket spread over her head like a blanket. He chuckled quietly, hearing not a sound from her as she breathed silently, still asleep. He slowly inched closer to her the way a cat would inch to a mouse before pouncing. The closer he got to her, the more of her beauty he saw. She wore a short maroon skirt which showed off her well-shaped legs, and a white blouse that failed to hide her slim waist. He gently slid the jacket off her body which revealed her gentle face, not a trace of dirt on her, smooth like piano keys. He could not help but marvel at how peaceful she looked when she was asleep, despite all the hard and tense times they were going through. How was it she still managed to be so calm about all this? Nothing seemed to bother her when she was asleep.

_Lillia, I wonder what you would say if I ever told you how you look when you are asleep. What would you say to me? What would I say back?_

Treize gently placed his hand on Lillia's shoulder and nudged her, which got a soft moan from her, and a whispering of his name.

"Treize…"

"Lillia, we have to get going again now."

"So…soon? What time is it?"

"It's 1 in the afternoon. We need to get moving again before nightfall."

"and just…when I was having a good dream again."

Treize chuckled as Lillia rubbed her eyes open and she sat upright.

"Can I at least have a drink of that water before we go on?"

"Okay, but just one swallow."

Treize then moved his hand down to get the canteen but he felt nothing. He looked down and found that the canteen had been taken from him, slipped off his body, sling and all.

"Lillia, the canteen is gone! I had it slung over my shoulder before I went to sleep!"

"That's impossible, Treize. It couldn't just sprout legs and run away!"

"Someone must have taken it while I was sleeping," Treize said worriedly, his brown eyes dull and glazed. "We better keep moving and hope we find someone who has water."

As soon as they got up they had only walked a dozen paces when they spotted a black blob in the distance…

A blonde man with blue eyes, 34, sat on a brown horse with dark eyes. He wore a loose-fitting white shirt and grey trousers tucked into black boots. Around his neck hung a pair of binoculars. Atop his head sat a soft felt cap, shielding his eyes from the sun. On the horse he sat upon, he carried camping equipment and ammunition. In his arms he held a Mauser Kar98k rifle, polished and loaded. He took his binoculars and spotted two young people approaching him.

One was a girl with light brown hair and bronze eyes, wearing a white blouse and a short maroon skirt. Next to her was an ebony black haired boy with brown eyes wearing a beige button-down shirt with olive trousers tucked into black boots carrying a black leather jacket. They looked to be shouting at him and running toward him, as if they expected him to give them something. He chuckled and patted his horse on the neck.

"Looks like we found some new clients."

With that, he raised his rifle and aimed at the two oncoming youngsters as they came closer into range.

As Treize followed Lillia who was getting ahead of him, he noticed something was not right with this man on horseback. He didn't seem to be coming toward them, answering their calls for water and help. Also he appeared to be holding something. The closer he got, the more of his figure was revealed. When he saw that the man on horseback was holding a rifle, Treize gasped and in an instant knew what kind of person he was looking at.

"Lillia, don't get any closer to him!"

"Why?!" Lillia asked in surprise, looking at Treize like he was crazy. "He might have water and food for us!"

"But Lillia, he's—!"

CRACK!

A rifle gunshot rang out and broke the stillness. A bullet zoomed out of the barrel of the horseman's Kar98k and zipped through the air and clipped off a lock of Lillia's long light brown hair, barely missing her by inches. Without another word, Lillia took the hint and followed Treize as they ran away from the horseman, who promptly chased after the both of them. They had no time to ask questions of why the horseman opened fire, who he was, or what he was trying to gain. The only thing they had left to do was to run. Lillia stumbled on a small rock and fell face first into the earth as the horseman fired another shot. Treize stopped and ran to his companion, taking her by the hand and quickly helping her up while the horseman fired another shot, grazing Treize's temple and smarting him slightly.

"TREIZE! Are you alright?!" Lillia asked worriedly.

Treize groaned slightly as he held his hand near his temple as Lillia saw a small creek of dark red blood run down the side of his face.

"I'm fine, Lillia. The bullet just scratched me. Now let's get out of here before that horseman fires again!"

CRACK!

A stray shot was fired and missed them, kicking up a cloud of dirt as it hit the ground. Without any more argument or discussion they both got up and ran again as Treize pulled out his FN Model 1910 from its holster and shot at the horseman to slow him down, which he failed to do. The horse took to a trot, then to a gallop, coming up fast on the retreating youngsters. Lillia ducked down behind a swale and motioned for Treize who was only a few paces away. Just as he jumped up to join Lillia behind the swale…

CRACK!

Something zipped through his shoulder and came straight out. A red flash of blood, followed by a collapse face first behind the swale. Lillia, now shocked and fearful beyond the means of comprehension that her best friend in this lifetime was down, possibly mortally wounded, got up and yelled at the horseman, blinded with rage and a secret fear at the possible loss of her friend.

"I'LL CLOBBER YOU FOR THAT, YOU ROGUE!"

That earned another shot from the horseman which Lillia quickly ducked to avoid. She pulled Treize down by the shirt and looked at him straight in his barely open brown eyes.

"Where did he hit you, Treize? Where does it hurt?"

Treize pointed to his right shoulder, where his faded grey shirt had a patch of blood which grew larger the more time past. With his free hand he reached for his utility belt and searched through one of his pouches to find a small roll of bandages and a tourniquet. He presented it to Lillia, his hand shaking, weak from the blow struck to him.

"Tie it up before I bleed to death."

Lillia promptly nodded and tied the tourniquet around his wound and then proceeded to wrap bandages around his right shoulder until the bleeding seemed to stop, a river closed off by a strong dam. Then, just as they got up, both turned to stare down the barrel of the horseman's Kar98k rifle. They looked up into the eyes of the horseman to find ice blue fearless orbs staring into the fearful quivering eyes of the two youngsters.

"Both of you don't make trouble and stand up now!" the horseman ordered.

They slowly raised their hands and stepped out of the swale. The horseman immediately reached a hair covered rough hand into Lillia's skirt pocket, searching for something that neither of them knew, which earned a glare from her.

"So, you have no money, little lady."

"I have _one_ thing you can have…"

"Yes? What is it?"

Lillia promptly whipped her right hand across his face in a sharp smack, sounding to one's ear not unlike the crack of a whip, leaving a red hand mark on the horseman's face.

"THE BACK OF MY HAND, YOU THUG!"

"Give him one for me, Lillia!" Treize responded which made the horseman turn to him and search his pockets.

"I suppose you have no money also, little one."

"That's right; I have no money also."

"Too bad," the horseman chuckled. "You will have to be prisoners of Berthold Stransky. That's me!"

Stransky quickly took some rope rolled up on the saddle of the horse and tied a noose like a bonding necktie around the necks of Lillia and Treize in quick succession. Treize feared that Stransky might hang them instead of just take them prisoner.

"So you don't try to run away."

Treize scowled as Lillia looked worriedly to him, with her eyes screaming, "Help me!" Treize tried to figure something out of this predicament as Stransky mounted his horse and then started forward, nearly throwing the two of them into the earth as the horse clopped along the ground and forward.

Treize looked up at their newfound companion and got to see his features up close. His hair was a dirty blonde like faded sand on a beach in the summer and his eyes were blue as the sky but struck through all like shards of sharp cutting ice. He had a wrinkled brow like a craggy granite mountain. His shirt was dirty with stains on his sleeves and back, evidence he had been in many struggles before coming to meet them. He wore an olive green belt of ammunition around his waist.

"Who are you anyway? What do you want from us?" Treize asked. Stransky chuckled.

"I told you I am Berthold Stransky."

"I know that, but who is Berthold Stransky?"

"Who is a form and function of what, and what I am is a man seeking revenge against society."

Treize tilted his head in confusion.

"Pardon?"

Stransky inhaled deeply, as if inhaling all the air of the world, and exhaled loudly, looking up into the blue sky wondering how God could put him in such a place, living such an existence and wondering how long this kind of existence would go on for him.

"I was once a soldier in the Sou-Beil Royal Army, and I was one of the best. I served in the Youth Guard and I was highly decorated for my services. But ever since that man, that lieutenant from the Air Force found that damn mural and proclaimed its existence to the world, ever since the war ended, times were hard for my comrades and me. The Youth Guard was dissolved, and we were all without a job."

"So you chose to be a partisan?"

"Your insight serves you well," Stransky chuckled softly. "I dedicated my life from then on to crushing this world of lies and bringing down the nation that destroyed my chance at a life."

"How is making everyone else suffer for your own loss fair?!" Lillia spluttered. "Not everything in this world will go your way! If you think that it is then that's selfish!"

Stransky pulled the rope and almost choked the both of them.

"Selfish?! All my life I served with the interests of my country at heart! And my own country took my life's purpose away! You think that is fair?"

Lillia tried to speak up again but Treize grabbed her hand and looked at her with stern brown eyes as if saying, "It's not worth it. Don't make more trouble when we are in enough."

They kept silent as Stransky pulled them along. Treize looked around him to see where they were heading to. Sadly it was the same forest and fields and nothing else. No sign of civilization anywhere.

Hours passed as the heat wore down heavily on the two weary youngsters, burning like ants under a magnifying glass focusing the rays of the sun. Treize noticed he felt pulled by something behind him. He looked back to see that Lillia, exhausted from the extreme heat and dehydrated from lack of water, was nearly crawling on the ground, like an animal barely grasping at life.

"Water…I…need water…"

"Lillia!!"

She fell to the ground and as Treize ran back to get her the rope caught him and made him fall as well, bringing Stransky and his horse to a stop. He turned slowly and looked down on them with annoyance, like one would look on ants before one squashed them.

"What is all this?"

"Please…you can't let her die! Give her water! I'll pay you well!"

"Pay?!" he said incredulously, one eyebrow raised. "With what? You have no money!"

Treize reached into his pocket and produced a four diamonds, shimmering in the sunlight and nearly blinding Stransky and Treize with their brightness.

"With these."

"Are those _real_ diamonds?" Stransky said, his eyes wide with amazement.

"Yes; just give Lillia water."

"Very well," Stransky replied, producing his canteen. "After me, my little friend."

Stransky put the canteen to his lips and drank as Treize watched in agony, his concern for Lillia growing with every gulp of water swallowed. He felt Lillia slipping away through his fingers the tighter he tried to hold on.

"Please, she has to have water!!" Stransky looked down at him and smirked.

"But look, the water is gone," Stransky said knowingly turning the canteen upside down, showing the last bit of water had been consumed by him.

"But you promised us water!!"

"So I did, and there it is."

Stransky pointed off to his right and there stood a small oasis with trees and a small pool, clean clear water shimmering in the bright sun, casting shards of light in their eyes. Treize's eyes widened as he picked up Lillia by the hand.

"Lillia, it's all right! There's water right over there!!"

Lillia's eyes immediately opened wide and she started to stumble to the pool when Stransky pulled hard on the rope sending both back.

"Not so fast! The capturer drinks before the captives."

"But…"

Stransky tied up the horse by a tree and set his Kar98k against it as he went first to drink from the pool and fill his canteen. Treize's eyes widened as he quickly saw an opportunity present itself to quickly escape this sticky predicament. He turned to Lillia, looking at the water ravenously, the way a miner would when he realizes he's struck gold.

"Lillia…" he whispered.

"Yes…Treize?" Lillia responded, her throat and mouth dry.

"I have a plan to get us out of here." Lillia looked at him like he was crazy.

"How? How can we possibly get ourselves out of this one?"

"He left his gun on the tree…"

Lillia turned and immediately knew what he was getting at. Lillia nodded to him and Treize started to turn around to creep to the gun until Lillia grabbed his sleeve. Treize looked to her and saw fear in her bronze eyes.

"Don't do anything stupid."

"You know me better than that, Lillia," he said with a calm reassuring smile.

Lillia nodded and Treize slowly crept to the rifle standing upright against the tree. Stransky took no notice of him, too busy drinking from the pool and filling his canteen to notice him. Stransky then stood up and turned around to face his horse and his two captives, only to find one of them.

"Hey, where's the other one?!"

"Here…"

Stransky turned to his right and saw Treize holding his Kar98k at the hip, the barrel pointing right at Stransky's abdomen.

"Wh-what is this?!"

"Be so kind as to take these ropes off us, would you? They're kind of tight around the neck."

Stransky, having his main weapon taken away from him and without any other weapon on him, slowly walked with his hands in the air and loosened the nooses off their necks. Lillia smiled and then stood beside Treize who smiled and then said nonchalantly,

"Now I'll trouble you for your horse, mister."

"And I will trouble you for that gun!" said a voice from somewhere behind them.

"Huh?!" Lillia exclaimed confused. "Who said that?!"

Treize turned his head with a jerk to behind him and saw a familiar figure pointing a Luger at him. He wore a light blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and dark trousers tucked into black boots. He wore a pilot's helmet on his head, tied below his chin with goggles positioned above his eyes.

"Oh no," Lillia groaned seeing their old acquaintance for a second time. "Not flyboy again!"

Treize tried to act quickly and raised the rifle to his shoulder to fire at the pilot but he soon spotted this quick move and shot his luger at Treize, getting him in the shoulder and causing him to drop to the ground like a lead weight. He grasped his wound as he fell on his knees.

"Treize!" Lillia shouted, running to him to attend to his wounds.

"Hold it, you! No one move!" The pilot ordered, pointing his pistol at her. "This time, I will FINISH my job!" The pilot quickly turned his eyes to Treize, still clutching his shoulder, his fingers already turning dark red. "The chief says you took some diamonds from the _Charlottenburg_."

"We didn't steal them…" Treize corrected him breathing heavily, his shoulder hurting him greatly. "We just took them for evidence."

"Enough talk!" the pilot snapped, outstretching his hand and palm. "Give me the diamonds!"

"I don't have the diamonds!"

"Treize doesn't have them," Lillia said glaring, pointing at Stransky. "That rat took them!"

Stransky had guilt written all over his face as the pilot turned a glaring eye to him. Stransky tried to take his leave of the situation but a shot from the Luger past his ear stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Not so fast, Stransky. I'll be taking those diamonds." Stransky smirked and handed him the small pouch filled with the precious stones, the incriminating evidence thrown back into the hands of the criminals.

"I didn't intend to keep them anyway."

"Of course not." The pilot then turned again to Lillia and Treize down on their knees, Lillia looking over Treize's wound in the shoulder. "Now it's time for you two. Put down the gun and get up on your feet!"

Treize laid the Kar98k down on the ground slowly and both stood up. Treize could see what the pilot intended just by looking in his eyes and seeing that lack of emotion, that absence of passion, that numbness that one would sense when one had been shot with an anesthetic. Stransky took his place on the pilot's right separating the two of them by about 25 feet. Treize knew in an instant what was about to happen and looked to Lillia, whose bronze eyes were welling up with tears. She knew it too. Then he felt Lillia's hand grasp his in fear, shaking with that terrible knowledge that this could very well be the end of both of them. Treize grasped her hand tightly, trying to calm her and reassure her that everything would be all right, even though his rationality dictated otherwise.

"You've stuck your noses in too deep this time around," the pilot said. "Now you know far too much about our little business, so it's best to end it like this."

"You can at least give us some water before…" Lillia started. The pilot smirked and nodded.

"Stransky, water for our departing guests."

"Why waste good water?" Stransky laughed. "Soon they will not need it!"

"Good thinking. Now, let's get this over with."

Stransky raised his rifle to his shoulder, aiming down the barrel at the two of them, choosing which one to shoot first. The two of them closed their eyes and Treize grasped Lillia's hand tightly. Then he remembered the promise he made for himself. He would tell her before this summer was over. Now it seemed that this would be their last summer ever so before he left this earth, he had to get that one thing off his chest.

"Lillia, there is something I always wanted to tell you."

"T-Treize?"

"Lillia…I…"

BANG!

"Treize…are we dead?"

"I…don't think so…"

Both opened their eyes and saw the pilot down on the ground, a red pool forming around his body, luger still firmly in his hands. On the pilot's right stood Stransky, smoke emanating from the muzzle of his Kar98k.

"Lillia…the pilot…he's dead!"

"Too bad," Stransky said laughing. "Who could have done a terrible thing like that?"

Stransky walked over to the body of the pilot and searched through his pocket to find the small pouch of diamonds that had been handed over to him earlier.

"Now my friend won't need these anymore. That thief would have stolen them from me!"

Treize felt his entire body tense up as he sensed an opportunity to get the diamonds back. As Stransky held out the pouch by the straps by his fingers, Treize then seized the moment. With lightning speed and precision, he produced the FN Model 1910 pistol he had stowed away in his pocket and shot at Stransky's hand, scoring a direct hit and forcing him to drop the pouch.

"Lillia, get to the horse quick!!"

Treize dove forward like a quarterback about to score a touchdown being chased by the enemy team and caught the pouch in midair, running just under Stransky. He then proceeded to circle around Stransky and head for Lillia who was waiting outside the watering hole near the horse. Treize quickly jumped onto the saddle and pulled Lillia up quickly by the hand, setting her behind him on the saddle as Stransky came running up to them.

"You little brats! Stop or I will fire!"

Treize bucked the horse with his feet in the stirrups and pulled on the reins, but it took a shot from Stransky to get the horse moving, and it took off like a rocket, running at a gallop across the fields and heading northwards. Stransky kept firing at them, bullets whizzing past them like an angry swarm of bees and just before they were out of range he heard Stransky yell,

"HORSE THIEVES!!!"

They continued the gallop north before Treize was sure they were out of range from Stransky and made the horse slow to a trot. Treize had learned some horse riding when he was little and knew how to ride well. Lillia had learned a little of it too in school but he wasn't good enough to go riding without someone to help her. She almost felt jealous of Treize for knowing how to ride when she couldn't. It made her feel…useless. But in the end that knowledge saved their skins and now they would get to Bolse faster. How long that would be neither could tell.

A few hours slipped by under their senses like a thief in the night as the mid-afternoon sun rose higher and higher in the sky, casting its burning glaring rays on the weary young adventurers. Tired, hot and dehydrated, Lillia's vision started to blur and she felt dizzy. Thinking it was the horse and the way it was walking she tapped Treize's shoulder.

"Treize…can we stop for a few minutes? I…don't feel so good."

Treize could tell she wasn't joking; her face was pale and her eyes looked glassy and confused, dazed with heat and exhaustion. Even her hair was now more tousled and mussed than usual indicating that near limit of her strength. Treize pulled on the reins of the horse and stopped him in his tracks.

Lillia jumped off the horse and landed feet first on the soft dirt, wavering from side to side overcome with dehydration and exhaustion from the heat. Treize jumped off the horse too to see if there was anything he could do for her, but as soon as he got off the horse, Lillia, tired, hot, and overcome with sunstroke, collapsed in his arms unconscious like a puppet being dropped by its master.

"Lillia! Lillia, talk to me! Are you all right?"

No answer came from her, and he knew that she was knocked out for now. They had to get to shelter in Bolse and get her some treatment before catching the smugglers. He was about to get back onto the horse with her unconscious form on his back when he saw the horse running away back in the direction from where they came.

"HEY! COME BACK HERE! WHOA!!!"

Alas, the horse did not heed his pleas and galloped down the open field leaving them alone again. Treize sighed as he knew they had just been put back at square one and they would have to walk yet again in the basking heat of the summer sun. it was just his luck; he was feeling the effects of the sun himself and the lack of water for more than 7 hours since they woke up that morning on the Lutoni River, flying in the skies, crashing down and wandering through the Bezelese countryside, caught by a vigilante and nearly killed, and now back again. He felt a great weight above his knees as he turned and started to walk, carrying Lillia on his back. The weight got heavier and heavier until it felt he was carrying the entire world on his shoulders. He thought he must just be getting tired and tried to search in the distance for a spot to rest, to find none. Only open fields and sparse trees here and there. He kept trudging through the grass until he felt his knees buckle beneath him and he fell forward into the earth, Lillia's form on top of him. He tried to get up but he felt a weakness in his whole body now and his senses beginning to fail him as he too succumbed to the lack of water and nourishment in the past 7 hours. He tried to crawl but he could not move one inch as his vision started to blur.

Everything went black.

* * *

A/N: ohohoooo!! I left you all hanging now didn't I? Well that is all I can leave you with for now until next time. And also sorry to all my faithful for having to wait a month for me to put this up. College has been a real pain lately. I promise I will try to update faster and as always read and review. Until next time!


	6. Chapter 6: By a Wing and a Prayer

**Chapter Six: By a Wing and a Prayer**

Wil's clothes flapped hard in the wind, the sound of whirring propellers from the various fighter planes on the airstrip filling the air. He watched intently with bronze eyes as Allison tied her pilot's leather helmet beneath her small chin. Allison had tried desperately to get a two-seater fighter so Wil could go with her, but her CO denied her one again and again, fearing that a civilian casualty might spark something more serious, and the Air Force was already thin in personnel, equipment and on money. The one fighter they had to offer her was the black FW 190 she flew in Tolcasia when Lillia and Treize were caught between a rock and a hard place in the orphan plane incident. She had to fight hard to get that plane, since it was the fastest and most state of the art. It wasn't a two-seater for just her and Wil, but the Air Force had to make do with what they had.

Wil walked over to Allison who was just about ready to board her plane and fly. Allison looked up and saw genuine concern in his bronze eyes with her deep ocean blue.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get a two-seater for us," Allison apologized for the third time today. Wil chuckled.

"It's alright. I probably couldn't stand the pressure of being in a dogfight anyway. I'll be meeting you in Bolse on the other side of the river. Sure you'll be alright?"

"I think taking down a couple smugglers should be no problem. Besides, we've been through worse."

"Take care, all the same, dear."

"I will. Thanks, Wil."

She was about to give him a kiss but she was taken completely by surprise when Wil planted a soft tender kiss on her lips.

"I owed you one of those for a while."

"You owe me many more, Wil…" Allison giggled.

"I'll pay you back when this is over. How does that sound?"

"Is that a promise?"

"It's a promise."

Allison smiled and both said their goodbyes as Allison climbed into the cockpit of her FW 190 as Wil stood back to one side of the runway. Allison turned on the ignition and the engine spluttered for a few seconds before it revved up and the propeller whirred as it turned faster until it became a blur. The black plane, marked with the Arrow of Theron on either side and on the wings, moved slowly forward along the runway, towards the end of the airstrip. The plane picked up speed and soon it slowly began to lift off the ground, slowly and little by little, until the plane was fully in the air and flew off into the bright blue sky.

Wil watched intently as the plane flew higher and higher and farther and farther out of sight. All the while he couldn't help but think over how much his daughter was like Allison, except of course when it to love. She was brave and adventurous. She was temper-prone, but kind at heart. And she always managed to find trouble wherever she went.

"Like mother, like daughter."

* * *

Treize woke up.

The first thing he saw was the ceiling, which surprised him. Last time he was conscious, he was in a field, with the sun beating down on him and Lillia lying next to him. Then his eyes shot wide open and he sat up as if being jolted by a shot of electricity. He was in an enclosed room, lying on a cot with the sheets loosely lying over him. He noticed he was no longer wearing the clothes he had wore since he started this adventure but rather a loose-fitting white shirt and his boxer shorts.

"Wha…"

He looked around. There was not much in the room besides his bed. To his right there was a window which he looked out, seeing an airstrip with three dark olive green Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter planes.

_This must be a Bezelese air force base. _

He looked to his left and saw a door leading outward, to where he knew not. He rubbed his eyes and slid off his bed, walking to the door. He felt disoriented and lost, wondering whether he and Lillia had been kidnapped or help had come to them. Then it hit him.

_Lillia! _

What had happened to her?! Where was she?! Did they take her away?!

He jumped up and rushed out the door and turned right, running down the hall and bumped right into a uniformed soldier.

"Oof?!"

"Well, good to see you're all better, lad," said the soldier, laughing at the sight of excited and nervous Treize.

Treize looked up at the soldier quizzically. He was a fit and thin man, about 30, with blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a traditional olive green drab uniform. The insignia on his shoulder straps denoted the rank of lieutenant. He had a kind face, the kind that one could trust in an instant even if one had never met the man before.

"Wh-who are you? Where am I? Where's Lillia?!" Treize asked hastily.

"Take it easy, son. Don't get excited," he laughed. "We found you and your friend passed out and brought you back here. Your friend is safe and sound."

"Where is she?"

"She is getting a shower right now, but she'll join you soon enough. Oh, by the way, the name is 2nd Lieutenant Maximilian Dresdner." The lieutenant smiled and offered his hand.

"T-Treize. Treize Bain."

"Pleasure Mr. Bain. Oh, and the commandant of our base wanted to see you two. He is waiting for you now."

"Oh I see. Let me just get dressed first."

"Of course, we washed your clothes and they are waiting on the foot of your bed."

Treize looked in and saw he was right. He quickly slipped on his clothes and laced up his boots and presented himself spick and span in front of Dresdner, feeling clean and fresh.

"I'll take you to him. Follow me please."

Dresdner smiled and motioned Treize to follow him. Treize did so but not without his brown eyes darting around the hallway he walked along to see just what kind of place he was in. He found windows to the outside where there was another airstrip and five Bf 109s in line on the airstrip, with mechanics repairing and refueling the planes. Different uniformed soldiers flashed by him, talking to each other as he walked down the hallway trying to keep up with Dresdner, all the while wondering where Lillia was. Soon they came to a door and Dresdner turned to him again and smiled, saying,

"The Commandant is in here. He's been meaning to speak with you."

Treize nodded and slowly turned the knob of taking a heavy step in.

"Come in, lad," said a grown male voice. "Good to see you're up and around."

He took two more steps into the room and found an auburn-haired mustachioed man with crystal blue eyes. He looked to be of about 36 years, wearing an olive green uniform with medals and citations lining his chest. His insignia on his shoulder straps denoted the rank of captain. He greeted the ebony-black haired boy with a calm smile and extended his hand to him.

"I'm Captain Georg Dietrich, commander of this airbase." Treize smiled and shook his hand firmly.

"Good to meet you. I'm Treize."

"You and your friend had a close call out there. If you were out there any longer you would have suffered worse."

"Where is Lillia anyway?"

He spoke to soon, for as soon as he mentioned her name, the door opened again, with Dresdner smiling and a young lady of 16 with light brown hair and bronze eyes walking in.

"Here she is, lad. And you caught a good-looking friend too."  
"Uhh…thanks?" they both said bewildered. Dresdner laughed and winked to the both of them before closing the door.

"Please, take a seat you two," Dietrich said smiling.

Both took their seats in front of the desk and Dietrich did the same, clasping his hands together interlocking his fingers.

"We received reports from scouts of a crashed plane and sent out a patrol."

"The patrol found us just in time, Captain Dietrich," Lillia replied. "I don't know what would have happened to us if you hadn't found us when you did."

"So what brings you two to this forsaken part of the Continent?"

"We were kidnapped by a gang of diamond smugglers."

"Diamond smugglers?!" Dietrich said in surprise, his jaw dropping to the desk.

"It's hard to believe I know," Treize said. "But it's true. We were kidnapped."

"We were going to take a ride in a seaplane but we then saw two sailors throw a man off the dock," Lillia continued.

"It turned out the men who threw him into the river smuggled diamonds in cans of crabmeat." Treize took out a small pouch from his jacket pocket and showed Dietrich a handful of shining glittering diamonds that lit up the room in a bright white light.

Dietrich seemed obviously intrigued by this story, but it seemed from the look in his eyes that he had heard this story before, that this was not the first time he had heard of diamond smugglers. He let his young guests continue their story, intently listening for any clue as to who these men were.

"Tell me," Dietrich politely asked, catching them in a pause, "did these cans have a crab with silver claws on the label?"

"They…did…" Treize said, amazed he could have known that without either him or Lillia telling him.

"I thought so. Well it's not the first time those smugglers caused trouble."

"You know about them?" Lillia asked, stupefied.

"All too well," Dietrich replied knowingly. "They're called the _Crab With Silver Claws,_ and as I am sure you're aware of now, they are a powerful smuggling organization based in Sou-Beil. The Army has been trying to crack down on them for months, but they have proved to be very clever."

"How do you know about them, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Well…" Dietrich said quietly, hesitating, "I fought against them once."

"You?" Treize said, disbelieving.

"A few years back, when I was just a lieutenant, I went up against them in the air with my squadron."

"They have fighter planes too?!"

"The wealth they have gotten from smuggling diamonds is phenomenal; that's how they got their planes. But like I was saying, I was in a squadron as a lieutenant, and we went up against them in a dogfight. They were tough. So tough, I lost all my men."

"That's awful," Lillia said, basking in amazement.

"Yes, it is. There hasn't been a day that went by where I haven't thought about that day. I have been waiting for a chance to take the smugglers down again. Sadly shortly after that fiasco in the sky, the Intelligence Service took over the operations regarding the smugglers. I have not gone up in the skies ever since."

"I'm sorry, Captain Dietrich. I wish there was something we could do."

"No, it's all right. Don't trouble yourselves. But what got you here since you got kidnapped by the smugglers?"

"We escaped from their ship," Treize resumed, "and we had to hijack a smuggler's seaplane that was meant to take us down. It crashed on this side of the river when it ran out of gas and we had to try and make our way to Bolse on foot."

"Bolse?"

"Yes. That was where the smugglers were heading; that's where their ship is moored."

"And you were heading there to take down the smugglers by yourselves?" Dietrich asked incredulously.

"No, not at all!" Treize insisted. "We met some people from the Sou-Beil intelligence agency and we're trying to get in touch with them. If we have their help, we might have a chance."

Dietrich leaned back in his chair and chuckled to himself. It wasn't often when young people such as these two went on such a wild adventure. He couldn't remember when he ever did something like that in his youth. He liked these two; there was something different about them from others he had met. They had inadvertently gotten themselves mixed up in a mess of trouble, but they didn't choose to run from it. They chose instead to press on and clean up the mess. It wasn't something he had seen in youngsters for a good long while.

"We have a spare fighter plane that can get you to Bolse."

"Really?!" both said eagerly.

"Yes," Dietrich chuckled. "It's an old model but it will work enough to get you to Bolse and fight off any smugglers that happen to come your way."

"You'd do that for us?"

"Of course. It's waiting outside all ready for you." Treize and Lillia beamed as they stood up and shook the captain's hand, saying.

"Thank you, Captain! We won't forget this!"

* * *

In a small radar outpost a few miles outside of Bolse, a mustachioed blonde man wearing headphones was listening in to someone, with many people surrounding him.

"What does Borg say?!" a 24-year-old brown-haired grey-eyed man asked impatiently.

"Quiet!" the blonde on the radio responded.

All waited, some biting their nails or sweating their collars in anticipation of an answer.

"I got something!" the blonde said jubilantly. All quieted down as he listened in. Soon the man in question on the other end of the line, Borg, gave the blonde his answer. "L and T are leaving the airbase. They are going by plane to Bolse."

That comment sparked a wave of concerned gasps among the men in the outpost. The 24-year-old's face contorted into a determined grimace, his grey eyes glinting with the brightness of a bayonet.

"They must not be allowed to reach Bolse!"

"We got to stop them somehow!" spoke up another brown-haired man of 26 years with an eye patch over his left eye. "Jaeger, send me and my Wolf Squadron to take care of them."

"It's too risky," Jaeger, the blonde man replied. "Send more than one plane and it will only arouse suspicion. We will have to send only one plane."

"I'll go," the 24-year-old man said, his chest jutted out proudly. "They won't make it past me."

"I sincerely hope so, Ustinov, for your sake. We wouldn't want a spot on your record now would we…"

* * *

The plane was fitted out and fueled up with enough gas to take them both to Bolse. The propeller started up as Lillia and Treize climbed into the two seats in the cockpit of the old plane, turning to Captain Dietrich one last time.

"Thank you again, Captain. We won't forget this!"

"Don't mind that, you two," Dietrich replied laughing. "You can repay me in doing in those smugglers once and for all. Not just for me but for the men I lost that day in the sky."

"They won't get away with what they've done. Not as long as we're here! So long, Captain."

"Good luck!"

The cockpit window closed and Treize moved the plane forward and down the runway, slowly opening up the throttle wider and wider until it was enough to get them off the ground and up into the air. The airbase was now below them and further and further behind them, and before them was open ground before the port city of Bolse, and with it, the smugglers' stronghold.

An hour quickly passed and the sun began to dip down in the sky, evening fast approaching. Treize looked at his watch and saw that it was almost half past five in the afternoon.

"Lillia, I'm going to open the throttle up. We have to get to Bolse before nightfall."  
"Sure, Treize," she responded through the intercom. "Go ahead."

Treize moved his hand to the throttle and saw his hand begin to shake, and he suddenly felt like he couldn't make his hand do what he wanted it to. He was sweating bullets through his collar and soaking it through and through. Lillia could tell something was wrong when she noticed that the plane wasn't accelerating.

"Treize, is there something wrong?"

"Well…" he hesitated, "there actually is."

"With the plane?!" she said, her voice aching with concern.

"No, not the plane. There's just something that I always wanted to tell you Lillia. I have never gotten the chance to say this to you because so many things got in the way."

"hmm?" Lillia asked bewildered. "What do you mean? What do you want to tell me?"

"Lillia, I…I always felt that…"

Just as Treize was about to open up his heart and say the words he had meant to say to her so many months ago, he heard a voice over the radio, one that sounded unfamiliar and sinister…

"_Ah, so these are the troublemakers!"_

"Huh?! Who said that?!"

"_Why I did, of course!"_

RATATATATATATATATATAT!!

A hail of bullets streamed down on them from high above them to their left. Treize dove to the right quickly to avoid the fire as a black fighter plane flew down past them to their right. It was a Hawker Hurricane, with a silver-clawed crab painted on either wing.

"Treize, what was that?!" Lillia said anxiously, wide-eyed.

"I wish I knew," Treize responded worriedly. Just then the voice over the radio introduced itself and added a face to the audio.

"_Allow me to introduce myself: Raul Ustinov, ace pilot, at your service!"_

"He must be a member of the smuggling ring," Treize said to Lillia as he looked down on the black plane below him.

"What are we going to do then?" Lillia said, fearful.

Treize gripped the steering handle as his eyes narrowed, face hard with determination.

"We won't let him take us down."

"_Oh really? We'll soon see about that!"_

Just then, the black plane accelerated and made a turn, heading straight at them, firing a storm of bullets. Treize quickly flew out of the crossfire to the right just as the black plane flew past them again and made a U-turn.

"_I'M GOING TO CRUSH YOU!"_

He fired again and Treize swerved to the right to avoid the fire but Ustinov did not give up. He quickly fired another spray of bullets but Treize swooped to the left and narrowly evaded being shot down. The pace of the fight picked up in intensity as the adrenalin was now flowing rapidly through their veins, and all three of them tensed and sweated through their collars with anxiety. Ustinov followed Treize and shot at him again and again but Treize barrel rolled and constantly steered clear of the incoming bullets. Ustinov was now getting thoroughly anxious, not to mention impatient and angry.

"_STOP MOVING AROUND SO I CAN SQUASH YOU!"_

"In your dreams, Ustinov!" Lillia shouted over the intercom.

He fired again but Treize barrel rolled again and tried to lose him by accelerating and flying to the left, but Ustinov refused to let him go. He followed him higher into the air and shot another quick spray of bullets before making another quip on the intercom.

"_You are starting to annoy me!!!!"_

"Treize, get this guy off us, already!" Lillia screamed to him in the forward seat. "He's starting to get on my nerves!"

"_THOSE WHO MEDDLE IN OUR BUSINESS WILL DIE!"_

"I know just the way to get rid of him…" Treize said calmly.

Treize braked hard and flew underneath Ustinov before coming up behind him.

"You were saying, Ustinov?"

RATATATATATATATATATATATAT!!!

Treize fired a hailstorm of bullets and got Ustinov on the wing, but it did not do enough damage as Ustinov flew off to the left and out of the crossfire. Treize immediately went after him and kept shooting, but Ustinov constantly moved left and right to avoid the incoming rain of lead, all the while continuing to taunt them over the radio.

"_Ah ha ha ha ha!! Is that all you little kiddies have got?!"_

"On the contrary, we're just getting started!" Treize retorted as he fired again, only to have Ustinov swerve to the right and avoid the hail of lead.

"_You're pretty good…for a couple of pipsqueaks!!"_

"WHO YOU CALLING A PIPSQUEAK?!" Lillia screamed over the intercom. Treize couldn't help but chuckle at Lillia's outburst.

_She's so cute when she's like that…_

Now wasn't the time to fawn over her, however. He quickly shifted back to the task at hand and shot off a dozen rounds at Ustinov who barrel rolled and quickly somersaulted high into the air before coming down behind them once more.

"_You insolent little pests!!!"_

He fired again but Treize accelerated and their plane flew high into the sun, off to the right. Ustinov tried to find them but the sun blinded him. Just then, a hail of bullets rained down on him from the right as Lillia and Treize's plane dove down from the sun, scoring hits on his left wing and busting some of the glass covering Ustinov's cockpit. Treize then flew off to the rear of him and fired at him again as Ustinov did another barrel roll to avoid the fire.

"_I will not be defeated by these worms!"_

"Take him down already, Treize! I'm this close to jumping out of the cockpit and pounding him for all that!"

"I have a plan to take him down," Treize assured her. "Just try to be patient."

"It's a little hard to be patient when he keeps shouting insults in our ears!"

"_Touchy little lady aren't you? I'll do you fast, just to ease you of your pain…"_

"BACK OFF USTINOV!!"

Treize fired at him again but Ustinov swooped to the right and hit the brakes, coming up behind Treize and fired a volley of lead at him. Treize swooped to the right but Ustinov followed him closely. He chuckled as he tried lining up the sights with their airplane.

"_You're much tougher than I thought…"_

"We have good teachers!" Lillia said over the intercom, smirking. Treize chuckled.

"_You two must come from a military family or either a rich enough family to hold the yoke of a plane."_

"You _could_ say that…"

"_We'll talk more later…right after I TAKE THE BOTH OF YOU DOWN!!!"_

Ustinov shot at them again but Treize then pulled off a master stroke. He did another barrel roll to the left and then accelerated, doing a spinning somersault, landing right behind Ustinov and fired as he went, hitting him on the main body and wings and destroying the rudder, causing Ustinov to swerve out of control.

"_NO!!!!"_ Lillia cheered at Treize's decisive and master move. Treize chuckled as he looked back into the dark eyes of the girl he loved, smiling wide at him.

"Way to go, Treize! Now finish him!"

"Right!"

With that he fired off another large hail of rounds and a small boom filled their ears as a ball of flames expanded before their eyes, emanating from behind the propeller on the front. A direct hit had been scored on the engine. Ustinov screamed his disbelief and utter shock for all to hear:

"_I CAN'T BELIEVE I LOST TO THESE BRATS!!!!"_

His plane began to spiral downward, a stream of black smoke coming from the engine as it plummeted toward the green fields below. Treize's eyes widened as he saw that he refused to jump from the plane. He was going to die with it.

"_You both are worthy opponents. I guess I can't win every battle. I wish you both…a pleasant journey…but don't get so cocky as to think it's gonna get easy from here on out…"_

Treize's eyes widened as he saw this man let his hubris and vanity control him and guide him to his death. How could people be controlled by their most sinful of emotions?! How can they let themselves face death when all they have felt is a blow to pride?! As the burning plane plummeted every closer to the ground, Ustinov sent out a last call to the radar outpost:

"Hawk to Bird's Nest. Mission failed. L and T scored direct hits on me. I won't be able to make it back to base. Over."

"_Bird's Nest to Hawk. Understood. Activate the emergency signal and we'll scramble a rescue team to your location. Over."_

"Roger. One further note of advice that you all would be wise to heed: Don't underestimate these kids. They're more skilled than I thought. Use extreme caution when dealing with them. Out."

The line went dead, as his plane hit the ground and blew to pieces in a massive explosion and the ace fighter pilot Raul Ustinov passed on into the afterlife.

_That was too close_.

"You think they will send another fighter after us, Treize?" Lillia asked after heaving a sigh of relief.

"I don't count on it," Treize responded. "They don't want to attract attention so they will most likely send another single fighter. We better stay sharp."

Treize closed the throttle gently as the plane resumed its course to Bolse.

* * *

In the radar outpost, Jaeger pounded his fist on the radar device in frustration.

"Dammit! Ustinov failed!"

"Jaeger, now would be a good time to send my Wolf Squadron," the eye-patched man suggested.

"It's still too risky. We can't afford to lose a whole squadron to people of such high caliber."

"Then what shall we do, sir?"

"We'll BLOW THEM OUT OF THE SKY! Everyone man the Anti-aircraft guns!"

It was now early in the evening, and the sky had turned a faded pink as the sun began to set in the west beyond the horizon to their left. Treize looked down to see the outskirts of the port city they had spent almost two full days trying to reach. Now within closing distance of the city, Treize brought down the yoke of the plane, and started their descent towards the city, aiming at a small airstrip near the seaside.

Little did they know that off to their left and directly below them, a line of antiaircraft guns had been made ready and turned up to the sky, ready take down the enemy plane carrying the two youngsters posing a threat to their business.

Jaeger came out of the outpost and took out his binoculars, scanning the skies for any sign of the plane. He didn't have to look for long. Coming down from about 5,500 feet above them, a small Messerschmitt Bf 109 was descending, heading to the right towards an airstrip near the coast. Jaeger pointed at the airplane and shouted,

"There are our troublemakers! ALL BATTERIES FIRE!"

In a deafening roar, all the antiaircraft guns opened up a tremendous fire, lighting up the evening sky with long bright yellow shafts of light from tracer rounds and the sound of booming cannons and the rat-tat-tat of smaller machine guns, all aiming right at the little fighter slowly descending to the airstrip.

Treize immediately saw an AA round whip past the cockpit window and he immediately banked the plane to the right to avoid the incoming hail of lead, waking up Lillia from a quick nap.

"Hey! What's the big idea Treize?!"

"Lillia, we're under fire!"

"What?!" she gasped, surprised and frightened.

"We got a nice welcoming party in Bolse. If we don't move now we're gonna be dead!"

Treize took evasive action, trying desperately to avoid the incoming AA gunfire. However, they were heavily outgunned, and the fire was coming faster than they could control. Everywhere they looked, there were fireworks being sent up into the sky, surrounding their plane, unable to escape from them.

Below, a bright-eyed 29-year-old manning a 20mm AA gun looked through the target reticule, trying hard to line up the reticule with the underbelly of the plane. It was quite a challenge since the damned thing wouldn't stay still. Soon enough however, the man got a bead on the plane and fired.

Treize felt something crash against him and heard a large boom. He looked out the window and saw the underside of his engine, which was spewing black smoke. Two more crashes followed and he looked to both sides to see the wings of the plane suffer direct hits, mangling the wings and the flight path became less steady, the plane swaying from side to side as Treize tried to maneuver the crippled machine away from the guns.

"That's it! We got them!" Jaeger said jubilantly amidst the cheers of the gunners. "Now they have to go together or jump together."

In the plane, Treize had turned the plane to the right, far enough out of the crossfire coming from the AA guns. The plane was now a lost cause and they would have to jump before the engine exploded. He turned to Lillia and said firmly what was to be done.

"Lillia, we're not going to be able to make a landing. We'll have to jump for it!"

"Gotcha."

Lillia reached behind her for a parachute only to find she had none. She looked behind her and found the parachute compartment empty. Someone had stolen the parachute from the plane before they had taken off from Dietrich's airbase. Lillia looked back to see the back side of her friends' head as his hand reached for the parachute behind his chair and strapped it around him. Her eyes started to water as she realized this could very well be the last time she saw him…alive.

"I got my parachute ready, Lillia," Treize said over the headset. "You set?"

"Treize…my parachute is gone. It's not here."

"What?!" Treize said shocked. "We have to look for it!"

"There's no time, Treize," she said in a solemn tone he never heard before. "You get out of here. You have a better chance at ending this by yourself than with me to slow you down."

"Lillia Acacia Corazon Whittington Schultz, am I hearing that out of you?!" Treize said, with a firm determination in his voice.

Lillia looked up at him upon hearing her full name, to see his strong brown eyes looking into his trembling wavering bronze.

"Lillia, we've gone through a lot worse than this! And we got through every mess we got into together! I'm with you as long as you're with me. I _\WON'T _leave you behind, Lillia. I will keep you safe." Treize inhaled deeply as he swallowed his fear and tensed up for what he going to say next, what he had been meaning to say for a good long while. "I won't let anything happen to you because…because…BECAUSE I LOVE YOU, LILLIA!"

Lillia's eyes shot wide open upon hearing those three words come from him at long last. At that moment, everything seemed to slow down and nothing else seemed to be of importance. Not the burning plane. Not the missing parachute. Not the smugglers. Not what lay ahead of them or what they had left behind. In that one instant, nothing else mattered except the two of them. They wouldn't leave each other, even if they tried. Lillia's eyes leaked a small crystal tear that ran down her smooth cheek, at last hearing the words she had wanted to hear from him in so long.

"Treize…" she started. "T-Treize…I…"

"Lillia, wherever you go, I will go also. But there is no way in hell that I am letting you die here, when there is so much I have left to tell you and show you. I won't let you die, Lillia. Not as long as I love you."

Lillia smiled and nodded as Treize then opened the cockpit window and stood up slowly, ready to vacate the burning plane. Lillia followed Treize's example and stood up, reaching out to Treize's hand which touched hers and then grasped it tightly. They both looked at each other like they had understood this moment would come the moment they began their trip only a week ago, bringing them here, on another adventure. In all their times together, this one moment made this whole adventure the greatest of their lives.

They jumped out of the plane together and into the open air, with only the ground and the airstrip below them. Lillia reached out her free hand towards Treize as they fell, the wind flapping against them and their clothes fluttering. It was extremely hard to move one's arm in the tremendous force of wind as they fell through the air, but surely, slowly, Treize and Lillia's other hands touched, then clasped together like a key fitting into a lock. Treize pulled Lillia in close to him, moving one arm around her waist while keeping the other clasped with her hand. All the while, Lillia and Treize's faces moved closer to each other until they were only a centimeter away. Soon that barrier was closed too as their lips touched in a soft tender kiss.

In that moment, they felt they could understand everything, and could grasp at the higher things beyond human comprehension like the heart, the soul, and divine. It felt like basking in the presence of a higher being, of being rushed through all the most wonderful things in the world, of becoming one in body and soul. Even in the midst of falling, they didn't seem to mind in the least, and all the feelings of fear and tension and anxiety melted away, leaving only the soft feel of their lips pressed on each other.

They broke apart as Treize pulled the ripcord of the parachute and held tight onto Lillia as the parachute deployed and opened. He whispered in her ear,

"I've been meaning to do that for a long while now."

"How long were you planning to keep your love a secret, Your Highness?" Lillia asked smirking.

"I actually wanted to say it to you some time during this trip, but then all this happened."

"You and your secrets," she giggled smiling.

"Can you forgive me for keeping it from you for so long?"

"Maybe…this time…" she said as she kissed him again, "I'll let it slide."

Treize chuckled as he held her tightly, unwilling to let her go, and they slowly descended down through the air toward the airstrip. They never looked anywhere else except in each other's eyes, unmindful of all the danger around them until they hit the ground with a bump. Treize fell flat on his back with the parachute falling slightly to his side, with Lillia on top of him and his arms still around her slim waist.

"Looks like the ride's over."

"Too bad; it was actually a lot of fun," she said, trying to hide her smile as Treize threw off the parachute from his back.

"Let's get moving. We got to find Zimmermann and Campion in the Bolse."

"Of course. Lead on," she said, her eyes looking to him with trust and commitment. "I'm not afraid when I'm with you. Now let's go."

They started up to their feet and made their way down the airstrip to find someone to direct them to the nearest hotel to rest up. But all the while, they didn't stop thinking about the loved one next to the other. They never would stop thinking about each other either. This was a moment that would last forever.

* * *

A/N: Well that's the 6th Chapter. Sorry to keep you all waiting for so long. College finals and all were a real pain for me. But they are all over now. Also I should let you know that I am going to be studying abroad in Russia for 3 weeks so I will not be working on the 7th chapter until I get back home on June 8th. Just bear with me and be patient. Until next time, Ja ne!


	7. Chapter 7: The Wolf's Lair

You probably all thought I was dead, right? WRONG! It has been a little difficult balancing fanfiction writing with attending summer classes, but the important thing is that I am back, and ready to whip this thing out. So without further adue, here is the next chapter!

* * *

**Chapter Seven: The Wolf's Lair**

Treize was the first to wake up, still lying on the hotel bed he had slept in the night before. They had managed to escape from the smugglers by a hair last night; he was amazed that no one had found out they survived. He was all the more amazed that he had finally forced the words out of his mouth.

Before then, everything had gotten in the way, and they had more pressing matters to attend to than matters of the heart. But in that instant when it felt like there was still a gigantic matter to attend to, he still said it. Why? He had never opened his mouth during his other exploits with her, so why did he open up to her about it at that moment?

Because he thought he was going to lose her forever. Because he thought he would never get the chance again. Because it was like what Seron said to him that day.

"_When the time comes, don't hesitate; just act."_

He didn't need a reason. He didn't need a time. He just said it, and after he said it, it felt better, and everything was all right. The flaming plane didn't matter. The missing parachute didn't matter. Not even the smugglers mattered. At that moment in the skies, the only thing that mattered was each other.

He turned to his side and saw Lillia sleeping in the opposite bed, facing away from him, sleeping peacefully without making a sound. He smiled and rose slowly from bed, stretching his arms up and over his head, thinking about what lay ahead of them for today. They needed to try and make contact with Zimmermann or Campion, and then find a way to take down the smugglers. They were here; he knew it. All that was left was to bring them to justice, and they could get back to their vacation. They were so close. There was just one thing left to do. He slowly got up and walked over to her bed, leaning over her.

Her light brown hair hung in her face, slightly covering her eye. Her chest slowly rose and fell with each breath she took. She made not a sound as she slept, having the kind and caring calm face he knew since they were children. Lillia turned over so that she faced Treize looking down on her from above. A strand of hair still hung in her face, and he felt her warm breath bathe his face as she breathed softly and slowly, feeling of warm air in the summer. Treize chuckled lightly as he brushed away the stray strand of hair from her face and lowered his head to plant a soft caring kiss on her silky lips.

It felt so good, kissing her. All his troubles and worries seemed to melt away with her gentle soft lips on his. Her lips felt velvety and smoother than the finest silk money could buy. He had waited for so long to do this, and Lillia had even backed out of giving him one after the incident with the orphan plane, or so he thought. All the problems faded away from his mind, leaving only her soft lips on his.

She stirred and moaned softly, giggling at their lips touching. Two bronze eyes fluttered open and looked into Treize's soft brown eyes.

"Good morning, Lillia," he greeted softly.

"Morning, Treize…" she replied smiling kindly.

Treize knelt down next to her bed as she turned over to face him, giving him the gentlest smile he had ever seen from her. He felt at ease with her now, even if they had a large job to still do. He placed one hand on her delicate cheek which tickled her slightly.

"I had another good dream last night," she said softly.

"What was it about?" he asked curiously. She blushed slightly.

"Us, mainly…" she said sheepishly.

"It must have been good then," Treize said laughing.

"Treize…"

"Yes, Lillia?"

"Did you mean what you said to me…up there in the plane just before we jumped?"

Treize's smiled disappeared quickly as he looked at her with serious and caring deer brown eyes.

"Lillia, I meant it with every ounce of being in me, and I mean it now. I have always meant to say it to you but things have always been getting in the way. I love you Lillia, and nothing will change that."

Lillia turned a small smile as she chuckled softly.

"That's good, because…I have wanted to tell you that I love you too. We are so much alike, you and I. Trouble always seems to follow us, and we can never seem to say what we have wanted to say because of it. I just didn't know what to say until now. But…"

She reached her hand out and grasped his in an affectionate hold.

"…I'm glad for what's happened. I'm glad we've come far enough to finally be honest with each other. Even if we got ourselves roped into another adventure we didn't want, I wouldn't want it any other way. I love you, Treize. And I can't be any happier with that."

"Thoughts are likewise here, Lillia."

He squeezed her hand lightly and planted a soft kiss on her lips which she gladly returned. They wasted a little more time just enjoying each other, their lips locked, their minds at ease, and their hearts at peace.

Soon however, they left the hotel to find Campion and Zimmermann, or anyone who could help them in their last task in this city far from home, the wolf's lair.

* * *

Lilia and Treize resolved to go to the harbor master's office to see if the _Charlottenburg_ was still moored. If it was, they would then have to find Campion or Zimmermann and if possible try to find Steiner. If they found Steiner and tracked him, Steiner would lead to the one who was buying all the smuggled diamonds. They had gotten up at around 9 o'clock that morning and wandered around the city finding a path to the harbor in Bolse, which according to a local was on the other side of the city. Treize was a little worried that she may have been hasty with getting directions and might not have heard everything correctly.

"Are you sure that the harbor master's office was this way?" Treize inquired. "I could have sworn the merchant said it was the other way."

"You speak Bezelese, don't you?" Lillia asked him seriously.

"Sure I do."

"Well I am pretty sure that he said it was this way, so we'll keep going this way until I say so." Treize only chuckled.

"Whatever you say, then, Lillia."

Treize turned to his left and thought he saw a familiar figure. He grabbed Lillia and pulled her against a wall next to him. Lillia looked at him with a reddened pouty face.

"Treize, what did you do that for?!"

"I thought I saw him…"

"Who?"

Treize looked around the corner and saw the familiar figure walk by. He wore a black jacket and matching slacks over a red shirt. His hair was black and his eyes a steel grey with a hard rock face and wore a white fisherman's cap on his head. He recognized him instantly as he turned left at a street corner.

"Steiner…!"

"What?" Lillia looked at Treize in bewilderment.

"I saw him. Steiner is here."

Lillia's bronze eyes widened as she looked around the corner and saw him disappear behind a street corner.

"The Charlottenburg _is_ moored here!" Treize said assuredly. "Steiner being here proves it."

"Let's follow him, Treize."

"Good idea, Lillia. If we follow him, he should lead us to whoever is buying his diamonds."

"Lead on then, Treize," she said with a smile.

Treize chuckled as he led her on closely following Steiner, turning the corner that he took. They had to run to catch up to Steiner, but had to stay far enough away to not attract his attention. Onward they rushed through the streets, looking neither right nor left but only keeping their eyes on Steiner. They brushed shoulders with a few passerby merchants and citizens, but it was not enough to cause a commotion, as they kept moving along, running as fast as their bodies permitted.

They must have followed them for more than 10 city blocks since they were quite out of breath as they followed him through the winding streets of Bolse, and into a small alleyway.

Steiner then stopped.

He turned, getting the feeling that someone was following him. Looking over his shoulder, he glanced behind him, seeing that the street behind him was empty. There was only the occasional passerby or the hum of an engine of a car that would pass through the street. He sighed nonchalantly, knowing that he was keeping the others waiting. It must have been his imagination playing with him. With that he turned back and kept walking down the street, not bothering to look back.

Treize and Lillia slowly poked their heads out from behind the walls of the alleyway and looked to the captain who had turned and continued following him, slowly, and being sure to keep their distance. Tensions were running high, and they were especially nervous. Beads of anxious sweat glistened on their necks and soaked their collars as they kept their eyes on their prime suspect. Just as they turned another corner, they were cut off by a speeding black sedan that almost hit them.

"TREIZE!"

Lillia pulled Treize off the street just as the car came rushing down, barely missing him. Treize looked behind him, seeing bronze eyes glistening with concern and anxiety.

"You should be more careful, Treize," Lillia said with a pouty face. "That car almost killed you."

"Thanks Lillia," he said kissing her lightly on the cheek. "Now let's keep going."

He turned back to face the street and saw that Steiner was gone. He pounded his booted foot on the ground in frustration.

"We lost him!"

"What should we do now Treize?"

Treize tried to think for a moment as he looked to Lillia. She was lost, and didn't have the slightest notion of what to do. They both knew the _Charlottenburg_ was moored here; Steiner being in the city proved that. What to do now was trying to find a needle in a haystack. Treize gripped her hand tighter and addressed her firmly saying,

"We have to find Campion and Zimmermann. They can help us." Lillia nodded in agreement.

"Right, I agree. The only problem is where to look for them."

"We should probably start at the harbor master's office. If the _Charlottenburg_ is there, then so will be Campion and Zimmermann."

Lillia seemed hesitant at first about going on with Treize's plan. There was no guarantee that Campion and Zimmermann would be there, but it would confirm their suspicions of the _Charlottenburg_ being moored in the harbor.

"Wouldn't it be better to look for them at the local embassy?" Lillia offered.

"Campion and Zimmermann must have gotten our radio message about the Charlottenburg and her crew, Lillia. This case is just as important to them as it is to us. If they want to track down the crew and stop the smugglers, the harbor is where they will go."

Lillia looked away and thought hard. They didn't have many options open; they were in a strange city where they knew no one, and as far as they knew, their parents were too far away to help. Their best bet to catch the criminals was Zimmermann and Campion. She sighed, knowing that there wasn't much else they could do until they got help from them.

"I'll take your word for it then. Lead on."

"I know it isn't the best plan either, but we really can't do much else."

"I know. I'm willing to go through with it because…"

She looked to Treize and kissed him lightly on the lips, whispering,

"…because I _do_ trust you. More than anyone." Treize just chuckled lightly smiling at her.

"Thanks, Lillia. Now let's get going."

They turned around and walked onto the street, waiting for a taxi to pull up to take them to the harbor. Treize held his hand out for one and watched the road while Lillia leaned against the brick wall of an office building. Across the road however, a black-haired man in a blue sweater leaned against a wall and eyed the two youngsters across the street. They seemed familiar to him, like he had seen them somewhere before. He tried to search hard within the deepest corners of his mind for the answer as to who they were but nothing seemed to come. A taxi cab was soon hailed by the ebony black haired boy and stopped near the curb, and as the boy and girl turned to board the car, the man recognized them instantly.

It was Lillia and Treize.

Them! The ones who had caught up on their diamond operation! The little kids who escaped off the ship and managed to elude them for a whole day since then. The ones they thought to be dead and gone, gotten rid of! How could it be?! How on earth did they survive?!

As Treize and Lillia entered the cab, the man turned and quickly saw a phone booth. He had to let the others know that Treize and Lillia were alive…and dangerously close to finally cracking the smuggling ring. The cab sped away in the direction of the docks, which meant they knew they were here. The man rang up a number and got a waiting tone. It didn't last long as the man he wanted to talk to soon answered.

"Steiner here."

"Eisner here. Steiner, you're not going to believe this."

"What?" he asked, genuinely interested.

"They're here."

There was a slight pause, and then a scream of disbelief.

"WHAT?!"

"I saw them get in a cab just now. It looked to be heading to the docks."

"Little bastards…they're clever…but not enough. I don't care what you do but get me those kids alive!!"

Eisner hear the telephone slam on the other line, knowing that he had just thrown Steiner into a tirade. The kids were here; there was nothing that could be done to change it. The only thing that they could do now was get rid of them and succeed where everyone else had failed. Eisner left the phone booth and soon caught a cab and directed it to head for the docks. And told the driver to hurry. Time was of the essence.

* * *

At the docks, Treize and Lillia decided to split up and search for Zimmermann and Campion. Lillia would check at the harbor master's office while Treize would look around the harbor and try to find them. Lillia was afraid something might happen to them while he was searching for them…

"Treize, the crew of the _Charlottenburg_ IS here. What if you get caught by the crew?"

"I won't; I promise."

"You can't promise that!!" Lillia said shaking her head violently, tears in her eyes. "You don't know if they will or not! And if they do…if they do…" Lillia hung her head down as she clutched Treize's leather jacket. "…I don't know what I'd do."

She pressed herself into his sternum and started to cry, fearful of what may happen to him. They had been through so much together. They had gone on some wild adventures together. Now they had just come out to each other and knew how they really felt about the other. What if it were all to disappear before her eyes, before they had a chance to live…to love?

Treize rested one hand on the back of her head and another around her slim waist, comforting her the way one would a scared child. He didn't want to lose her either. He felt the same as her, afraid to lose a love he had only just gained yesterday.

"You know, Lillia, whenever you cry, I feel like crying too." Lillia looked up at Treize, finding kindness in his dark brown eyes. "I don't feel in danger as long as you and I are together, Lillia. I have always felt that on every adventure we got roped into. And I'll never stop feeling that way."

"Then…then why won't you stay with me?"

"If you have faith in me, Lillia, then nothing will happen to me."

Lillia just turned a small smile and sighed. She then looked up to Treize and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

"Idiot."

"I don't deny I am one."

"You better be right this time…or I'll punch you so hard," she said laughing.

"I'll call for help if anything happens, Lillia."

Lillia nodded as she turned and entered the harbor master's office. Treize sighed and chuckled as he spun on his heel and strolled along the docks, looking for any sign of the _Charlottenburg_ or Zimmermann or Campion. He sighed happily, thinking back to their time together in the hotel the night before.

_They entered the room quietly, the only sound being the creak of the room door. Treize found there were two beds in the room and an adjoining bathroom as they walked in. the bed was covered with white-colored satin sheets for the summer, and across from the bed on the far side was a window that had a view of downtown, which at the time was particularly quiet._

"_Even for a first find, Treize, we did really well!" Lillia said, enamored with the plush look of their room. Treize just chuckled._

"_Any place is wonderful as long as you're with me, Lillia." _

_Lillia blushed slightly. Since Treize came out to her after jumping from the plane, he had said nothing but sweet things about her, which never failed to make her become flushed with embarrassment. But she still loved hearing him say those sweet things that made her heart flutter._

"_W-we should get some rest. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow," Lillia said with a slight note of nervous anxiety. Treize recognized it instantly._

"_What's the matter, Lillia? You seemed troubled by something." She just smiled and shook her head._

"_I-it's nothing Treize. Really."_

_Treize knew instinctively when she was lying to him. He took her hand and looked sternly in her bronze eyes._

"_Lillia, I promised I would tell you every secret I kept in my heart. It's only fair that you be honest with me as well."_

_Lillia sighed knowing that he was right. She had been hiding for so long from her own feelings about him. She blushed slightly and looked up._

"_I have been hiding something. Something I have meant to say for a while. And it was only when you said those words to me that I was reminded that I have been meaning to say this to you, Treize."_

"_What is it, Lillia? You can tell me anything." Lillia smiled and chuckled lightly, grasping at his black leather jacket._

"_I know. So I want to tell you that I love you too, Treize."_

_Treize's brown eyes widened in a slight mix of shock and surprise, never expecting to hear those words out of Lillia. She never seemed to be the kind of person to express herself about her emotions so clearly and without hesitation. He hesitated for a moment and blushed, which earned a small feminine giggle from her. He then paused and smiled lightly, taking her other hand and saying gently in the most caring tone:_

"_I am glad, Lillia."_

_He placed one hand on her cheek and moved a stray strand of hair out of her face as the barrier between their faces closed in a soft caring kiss shared between them. Her lips felt velvety smooth, better than the finest silk money could buy. They were a soft pillow to rest on and put away all his fears and cares. Lillia giggled and pulled back from her kiss looking at Treize with the smile that he could have sworn he had seen in an angel._

"_Treize…" she whispered gently._

"_What is it?"_

"_This was our fourth kiss…"_

"_You mean third." Lillia giggled._

"_No, fourth. There is one more before all this that I shared with you."_

"_Oh?" Treize said with interest. "When?"_

"_Back in Tolcasia," she said with a small bemused smile on her face, "After you nearly drowned in the river after the orphan plane crashed, I had to resuscitate you…so…"_

"_Y-you kissed me, while I was unconscious?" Treize's face was now a bright red with embarrassment. Lillia giggled._

"_I was too embarrassed to tell you after that."_

"_You don't have to worry about that anymore. Not now."_

_Treize slid his hands around her slim waist and pulled her close to him, kissing her innocently at first but then Lillia place one arm around his neck, pulling him in and deepening the kiss they shared. It felt sweeter than the best sugar. But more importantly, they felt happy. They finally were honest with each other._

As Treize thought about all this, a man from a ship eyed him. He was in his early 30s, and wore a black turtleneck sweater and brown slacks. He was informed by Steiner that Lillia and Treize were in the city, and they were dangerously close to picking up the trail and shutting down the smugglers for good. Their job was to get them alive. Well, there was only one of them, but one was better than none.

Treize kept wandering around the docks, walking along a row of warehouses, looking for any sign of Campion or Zimmermann. Lillia had just come out of the harbor master's office with information regarding the two agents' whereabouts, and turned to see Treize, walking slowly in apparently deep thought. He's always thinking about something she thought, chuckling. She started running to Treize to tell him the news, and called out his name.

"Treize! Treize!"

Just as Treize turned to face her as she came running, two men came from out of the warehouse and attacked Treize from behind.

"TREIZE!"

"LILLIA!"

One of the men behind Treize restrained him and started to drag him away as another tried his best to knock him out with a blackjack, but Treize restrained him with a free hand as he stepped on the other man's foot, releasing him from his hold. He then started to run to Lillia.

"Lillia!"

The other man with the blackjack ran after him and quickly hit him over the head, knocking him unconscious. The two men then proceeded to carry him off to a car that was waiting for them in one of the warehouses. Lillia sprinted across the pavement to try and catch the smugglers that had just knocked out her newfound love, and just as she entered the warehouse, she heard the engine of a car start up, and then the screech of tires as the car sped off and out of sight.

She stood there, her knees shaking, her eyes watering, and her lips trembling. Treize was gone. He had been kidnapped right before her eyes. And she couldn't save him.

_Someone please help me…I'm scared…I'm so scared. Treize…help me…_

"NO!!!!!!"

* * *

She stumbled through the city, walking uneasily on her feet which seemed too weak to carry her. She felt lost and in need of guidance, useless, as if there was nothing she could do that could do to change the current situation. She never came up with any plans; Treize always did. But now he was gone. She tried to think clearly and discern what to do next. Her mind was jumbled with fear and anxiety…and hopelessness.

She looked to the pavement, and watched her feet trudge along, not paying any particular attention to where she was going. She felt herself bump into a solid body which knocked her to the ground.

"I'm sorry," she said, trying to gather her words and keep calm. "I wasn't looking where I was go—"

She looked up and stopped midsentence. She saw two familiar faces. On the left, was a clean-shaven man with brown eyes and hair, wearing glasses. On the right, a goateed man with green eyes and black hair. Both wore uniforms of the Sou-Beil Intelligence Agency. They stared at each other for a little while until Lillia spoke.

"Zimmermann! Campion!"

"It's Lillia!" Zimmermann interjected, utterly shocked to find their young friend all the way out here.

"Alive and well, too," Campion added as they helped Lillia up. "What are you doing out here in Bolse?"

"For the same reason you two are. Treize and I are…" she stopped midsentence and corrected herself. "…_were_ looking for you so we could finally catch the smugglers."

"Where's Treize?" Zimmermann asked.

"He was kidnapped…right before my eyes," Lillia said shakily, her head hanging down.

Zimmermann and Campion could tell she wasn't very happy with what had happened and thought she was about to cry. Campion turned to his friend and colleague with sympathetic eyes, his heart going out to their little friend. Zimmermann instantly knew what Campion wanted to do, and instantly agreed without ever saying a word.

"Why don't you update us with what's happened over some tea, Lillia? I am sure we'll find Treize again if you tell us everything."

"S-sure…"

They escorted her to a nearby café and asked her everything that was needed to be known. She told them about how she and Treize barely escaped from the smugglers aboard the _Charlottenburg_. How they crash landed in the middle of nowhere in Sou-Beil and wandered in the heat, trying to find someone to help them. How they barely escaped death in the skies over Bolse after a kind Air force captain lent them a plane to fly. Now they had come here to settle things once and for all. They were so close. They were so close to breaking the ring they could just feel it.

"So far the only clue we have is the crab tins," Lillia continued on.

"And you say that the diamonds are smuggled _in_ the tins, correct?"

"Yes. They have a blue label with a silver crab."

Campion looked to Zimmermann in a slight note of shock.

"We saw tins like that this morning!" Lillia stood up instantly from her chair, her eyes hard with determination.

"Where?!"

"Around the corner," Zimmermann explained. "Come with us."

They all stood up and immediately made for a small marketplace where they found tins of crab lined up on a shelf, staring intently at them as if to say, "open me."

A clerk soon came to the front desk, wearing a kind face behind a black haired goatee and thick glasses which magnified his green eyes.

"What can I get for you today?" he asked immediately.

"We'd like to see a can of your crabmeat sir."

"Certainly."

He took the tin of crabmeat with the blue label off the shelf and placed it on the desk of the cashier. Zimmermann told him to open it, expecting to find the diamonds inside, but all were surprised to find just ordinary crabmeat.

"May I ask who do you buy your crabmeat from, sir?" Campion inquired.

"Certainly sir. They come from Lord Giovanni, the wealthiest trader in northern Sou-Beil."

Lillia knew in an instant what had to be done. And she knew now how to find Treize. In an instant her bronze eyes grew strong and shined with a new determination that had never been seen by anyone, much less Treize himself. She turned to her two Bezelese friends and said,

"Ask around a little more about Lord Giovanni and see what he's all about. I'll go and find Treize in the meantime."

"You got it, Lillia," Campion said smiling.

"Just leave it to us," Zimmermann said agreeing. "If you find Steiner, you'll find Treize."

* * *

Lillia had received a perk from the last hour or so. She no longer felt weak or helpless after talking to Zimmermann and Campion. Treize would not like it if he saw me crying helpless, she thought. He would want me to think of a plan to come save him. She wouldn't run away, or be afraid. This time, it was she who would save Treize.

She came up with a good plan. While Zimmermann and Campion tracked down Lord Giovanni, she would try and find Steiner. If she found Steiner, he would lead her to Treize. She had disguised herself as an old beggar, and held out her hand asking for alms to any passerby, not perking up anyone's suspicions. It was the best plan in her mind. And it was her first too. She was particularly proud that she had come up with something for a change, instead of Treize always thinking up a plan to get them out of their predicaments. Now was not the time to gloat over how good the plan is.

A stranger walked by and dropped a few Bezelmarks into her hand, to which Lillia responded with blessing the stranger for his kindness.

It felt extraordinarily hot in the city, and her disguise didn't help her much. She was dressed in a blue cloak that did a wonderful job at absorbing the heat from the sun, leaving her sweltering. It was bothersome but if she wanted to get Treize back and end the smuggling ring she would have to bear the heat for now. Steiner came this way once before. He may come again.

She heard footsteps from the alleyway behind her. She maintained her profile outwardly but she tensed up inside, trying not to look up and allow the approaching stranger to see her face. She lowered her head so she could just see the lower part of his body. He had black slacks and could tell he had a black jacket. His shirt was red. She looked up slightly, still keeping her face hidden under her hood. She could see a little more of his face; it looked stone hard, with grey eyes and pursed lips. He wore a white fisherman's cap under which he had a full head of black hair. She slowly lowered her head back down under the shadow of her hood and waited until he walked by. She knew who it was.

Steiner.

He walked by without taking notice of her and turned left, walking down the alleyway and turned to a small building about 30 yards to Lillia's left. He turned the door and walked in, disappearing from Lillia's view. Lilla got up and removed her cloak, relieving herself from the abject heat felt under that heavy thing and walked towards the building Steiner had entered. She turned the knob of the door slowly, partly because she didn't want to attract attention, and partly because she was nervous as hell. Her hands soaked with anxious sweat as she slowly and quietly opened the door.

There were crates in the room, and a small stairway downstairs. Lillia quickly walked down the steps where she found a cellar with large wine containers. There seemed to be no way out of the cellar as she walked around, the only possible way out by a window but that was restricted with steel bars. She then turned to the containers.

_I wonder if…_

She knocked on one. It sounded full. She then moved onto the next one and knocked on it. Full again. She moved on to the last one in the row. She knocked on that one, and this time it sounded hollow. She knocked on it again just to make sure and it was still hollow. She reached one hand on the dispenser and pulled, and to her surprise, the entire front swung open like a door!

"A secret passage…"

She crawled inside, her bronze eyes wide in wonder at the discovery she just found. Once she reached the opposite side of the container, she pushed open another door. It led her down a dark corridor. She looked left and right of her and saw her shadows thrown against the wall. Her shadow seemed to be a specter, a rather old specter with a bad back problem. She chuckled to herself at seeing her shadow. She violently shook her head and brought herself back to reality. She then found an open crate, and gasped to find it full of crab tins with the label of the silver crab.

"I bet those tins are full of diamonds…"

"I won't tell you, you thugs!!"

Lillia turned in the direction of where she heard the voice of what sounded to be Treize. She turned and walked quietly down a hallway, and then looked over into a room, just far enough to not be spotted.

Treize was on his knees, his hands tied in front of him with small ropes. Towering over him was Steiner, looking down at him with his hands on his hips, his face contorted in a scowl. To Treize's left was a man with a black flat cap blue sweater and black slacks holding a blackjack in his hands, looking down at Treize about ready to hit him over the head.

Seeing her beloved in danger she grabbed a crab tin from the crate and got ready to throw it. The fear she felt at the beginning of all this had soon subsided and gave way to a feeling of anger at seeing Treize, _her_ Treize, endangered by this gang of thugs.

"You won't get away with this, you thieves!"

"We'll see about that," Steiner said, not changing the hard expression in his face. "Now where's Lillia?"

"HERE!"

All turned and saw a girl with light brown hair and striking bronze eyes, glinting in the dimly lit room. It was the girl they had all been looking for. Treize beamed upon seeing his beloved here safe and sound, but that soon faded away as Steiner reached into his pocket for his gun. Lillia saw this, and threw the crab tin she was holding at Steiner as he raised his gun towards her. The can hit him right on the hand, knocking the gun out of his grip. The man carrying the blackjack tried to go for the gun as it spun through the air but Treize jumped on his feet and knocked the man out of the way using his body. The gun fell to the ground as Steiner tried to dive for it, but Lillia caught it and soon aimed it at Steiner.

"Freeze."

"Nice work, Lillia," Treize said smiling. "I'm very impressed."

"Thank you, Treize. Now I'll trouble you to untie my boyfriend if you please."

Treize smiled on hearing that out of Lillia, who looked down and gave him an indicative wink. He chuckled at that, impressed that Lillia had come up with a plan so quickly after his capture. He didn't think she would be the kind to think of a plan, since most of the time he was the one who came up with something. This was a first for her. And he was immensely proud of her for it.

As the man who had the blackjack cut Treize's bonds, Steiner slowly backed up to a door behind him. After Treize's bonds were cut, he walked over to Lillia's side, staring down on the two criminals. Steiner took the opportunity to try and break for it. He quickly opened the door, and ran, and the man who had cut Treize's bonds ran after him soon after. Lillia and Treize took to their feet and went in pursuit of them, down a long and dark hallway.

Meanwhile, in a room somewhere in Bolse, Zimmermann and Campion had managed to find the residence of Lord Giovanni, and were just sitting down to discuss their investigation. Giovanni was a black haired bespectacled 49-year-old who was beginning to suffer from balding. He had received a call from two agents from the Sou-Beil Intelligence Service, who said they were conducting a very important investigation and wanted to ask him some questions.

"Please sit down gentlemen," Giovanni said with an inviting smile on his face. Campion and Zimmermann entered Giovanni's small sitting room, where there were three chairs and a small circular table in the center with a tea set. Above them hung a large chandelier which lit up the room. They all sat down as Giovanni took hold of the teapot. "May I offer you some tea, gentlemen?"

"No thank you, milord," Zimmermann declined. "This visit is strictly business."

"Yes," Campion concurred, "we're engaged in a very important investigation and would like to ask you some questions."

"I see," Giovanni said plainly, "and what is the nature of your investigation?"

"Smuggling," both said in unison. "And we would like to know of what you know about smuggling in your area."

As Giovanni was about to answer that question, the wall to the right of him opened up and out came Steiner, running like the devil from what no one in the room could discern. He reached the door and as he turned it to open his way to the streets he shouted to Giovanni,

"The game's over, Giovanni! Lillia and Treize have finally caught up with us!"

Giovanni, knowing the danger of what was about to happen, started to get up to join Steiner but Zimmermann and Campion quickly jumped to their feet and produced their Luger pistols, aiming at him.

"Not so fast, Lord Giovanni."

Giovanni quickly threw up his hands knowing that he was caught, as Lillia and Treize quickly ran through the wall and found Zimmermann and Campion.

"Lillia! Treize!"

"Can't talk now," Treize said hastily. "We still have Steiner to worry about! He might try to escape the city!"

"We'll inform the police right away," Campion assured him. "Try and hold out until they get there."

They quickly ran out of the building and down the street, trying to keep their eyes on Steiner.

"The only problem," Treize said as they ran. "I don't know where Steiner could go."

"I do," Lillia said calmly. Treize was shocked but he couldn't turn around to express it, lest he lose sight of Steiner.

"Where do you think he would go?"

"Seems to me that most of the crates that had diamonds are off the _Charlottenburg_, he'll try to make out with what he has by air. He'll be stopped by the police if he heads for the docks." Treize smiled and chuckled lightly.

"I'm impressed, Lillia. Good deduction."

"I learned from the best."

They ran through town and sure enough, Steiner was found to be heading for the airfield where a small plane was waiting for him. Lillia had been dead on. As Steiner approached the airfield Treize saw crates being loaded onto the plane which were undoubtedly full of smuggled diamonds. He tried to aim his pistol at Steiner and fired only to miss him by inches. Steiner entered the plane and reached for the yoke but Treize took aim at him from a few yards to the right of the plane.

"Start it up and I'll fire." Steiner looked at Treize and just laughed.

"You don't have the guts, kid."

Treize shot off a round that just grazed him and cut off a lock of his hair. Steiner's eyes widened at seeing a boy barely 18 being such a good shot.

"One false move and I won't miss."

Steiner felt cornered and wondered what he could do to get out of this situation. He soon heard police sirens coming from behind, and knew that if he didn't make a break for it soon, he would be facing a harsh sentence. He looked to Treize and Lillia who simply stood there still holding the gun, aiming right between his eyes. Treize's eyes glinted in the summer day sun, and Steiner thought he was no longer looking at a little boy, but rather a man.

_There is only one way…_

Thinking quickly he started the engine, and closed the door to the plane, and Treize shot at him, hitting him in the shoulder. He groaned in pain as he gripped his wound and slowly pulled open the throttle, the plane starting to make its way down the runway.

"Damn kid…I won't…let you…win…"

"Steiner's getting away!!"

Treize, Lillia and the policemen that had arrived on the scene ran after the plane that was slowly making its way down the runway, determined to finally bring to justice the criminal that had caused Lillia and Treize so much trouble. Treize fired his pistol at him again, but only ended up breaking the window and grazing Steiner's forehead. Steiner winced and then tried to open the throttle wider, but then…

RATATATATATATAT!!!

A hail of bullets streamed from above and sent up sparks on the strip of runway in front of Steiner's plane. Steiner, scared of what might happen if he continued, quickly cut the engine and looked up to see what was the matter. Lillia, Treize and the policemen did the same.

They saw a black fighter plane, what looked to be an FW-190. The plane was the one that had fired the shots and climbed into the air again, showing the insignia of the Roxchean Air Force, the Arrow of Theron, under the wings. Lillia only knew one person that could be flying that plane all the way out here.

"MAMA!!!"

"Mrs. Schultz!"

The black fighter plane banked to the right and then started descending towards the landing strip, facing Steiner's plane head on. Steiner now knew there was no hope. If he tried to fly out now, it would only result in the black plane opening fire on him. There was nowhere left for him to run. As the black fighter gently landed on the airstrip, Lillia, Treize and the remaining policemen quickly surrounded Steiner's plane, all aiming their guns at him. Steiner, defeated, cornered, and utterly humiliated, slowly raised his hands in sign of surrender and disgrace.

"Step out of the plane, Steiner," Treize said firmly. "The game's over. You've lost."

Steiner sighed dejectedly, knowing this was the end. As soon as he stepped out of the plane, the policemen immediately took hold of his hands and handcuffed him. They then escorted him to a nearby car, where he was led in, the door closed, and all drove away. Steiner was finally brought to justice.

As this happened, the black fighter plane slowed to a stop, and the cockpit hatch was opened. Lillia and Treize ran to the black plane to greet the only pilot they knew could come all the way out here and risk her life to save them.

Allison.

Lillia was jubilant at seeing her mother again and jumped into her arms, laughing. Allison hugged her tightly, relieved to see her daughter was safe. Lillia's bronze eyes sparkled with tears of joy, at everything coming to a happy ending.

"Mama, I am so glad to see you!"

"We didn't expect you to come all this way," Treize said, smiling, relieved.

"I heard about your kidnapping the night it happened and so I got to my plane, flew out, and here I am."

"Your timing was just perfect," Lillia said jubilantly, hardly able to contain herself at seeing her mother again. "Any later and Steiner might have gotten away."

"He would not have gotten past me, even if he tried," Allison responded laughing. "But what I'm more surprised of is the fact you two came quite far, without any outside help. That's a first for both of you."

"Well, I, uhh…" both said slightly embarrassed at the compliment. Allison laughed.

"You did extraordinarily well on your own, and I'm very proud of both of you for it."

"And so are we!" said two familiar voices from off to their right.

Allison, Lillia, and Treize all looked to find their friends Campion and Zimmermann, smiling brightly at seeing them both safe. They were accompanied by two police officers and a reporter, jotting down notes in a small pad of paper. Lillia and Treize beamed at seeing their two friends back to greet them.

"Campion! Zimmermann! Is everything taken care of with Giovanni and all the others?" Lillia inquired.

"Everything is settled, Lillia," Campion said proudly, adjusting his glasses. "Giovanni and the entire _Charlottenburg_ crew have been apprehended. They'll be going away for a long, long time."

"And it's all thanks to you two!" Zimmermann said enthusiastically as he gave them both pats on the shoulders. "We would not have been able to track the smugglers down so quickly had it not been for both of you. We really owe you two this time."

Treize rubbed the back of his jet-black haired head in embarrassment.

"We didn't do _that_ much…"

"Oh yes you did! If you hadn't given us the information about the _Charlottenburg_, the crew, the crab tins, none of this would have been possible. We owe their capture all to you!"

Both of them blushed a little with embarrassment that they received such honors for something they had never wanted to get involved with in the first place. But they were glad. If it hadn't been for this entire fiasco, they never would have gotten closer to each other, never would have been completely honest with each other, and both would never have known how each felt about the other. They were both happy for the way things turned out. Because they had fallen in love at last.

"So," Allison said smirking a little, "how does it feel to be heroes?"

Lillia and Treize looked at each other, both eyes sparkling, and could see the answer written all over their faces. They had been through one more adventure. They had nearly gotten themselves killed, again. They had flown the skies, traveled the seas, and seen the world together. They finally were honest and open with each other about their feelings, and although they wished it was under better circumstances, they couldn't be happier. And so, both said with bright smiles on their faces,

"It feels fantastic."

* * *

A/N: I am sorry I haven't updated this sooner. It's been hard going balancing fanfiction writing with coming back home and attending summer school to fulfill prerequisites. But everything is out of the way, and we are finally back on track. And as if things couldn't get better, I have one more surprise for all of you. The next chapter (which will be the last one) has one final moment that I am sure we have all been waiting for. As to what I mean by that, I will let you figure it out. But until next time, read, review, and I'll be back with the last chapter! :D


	8. Chapter 8: All's Well That Ends Well

**Chapter Eight: All's Well that Ends Well**

The smuggling ring was cracked, and almost all members of the ring were behind bars. Treize and Lillia were lauded for their participation by the Sou-Beil Intelligence Agency, and received widespread praise at home and abroad. Even the Roxchean press could not keep Lillia and Treize's heroism a secret from the world. All felt very proud of both of them, and they felt very proud of themselves.

The adventure was over, but there was one more loose end to tie. Zimmermann and Campion personally invited Treize, Lillia, and Allison to a two day stay in the town of Lillianne, where Allison and Wil had been married almost 20 years prior. It was a beautiful quaint little place with a church near a lake, the same church where Treize and Lillia's parents had been wed. The reason for the invitation was a mystery to all, but they accepted it so as not to be rude.

They all stayed in a hotel, taking separate rooms, all expenses paid by the two youngsters' newfound friends from the intelligence service. Lillia slept with her mother, Campion and Zimmermann stayed together, while Treize had a room to himself. In fact, it was a good thing that he got a room to himself. He needed the privacy to give thought over what would happen tomorrow.

He had asked Campion to take them all to the church by the lake tomorrow morning. Campion had agreed, and seemingly knew what he had in mind for that day. He had heard about Treize's confession from Lillia when they bumped into her in Bolse. And he was actually quite proud of Treize for working up the nerve to finally say it. Treize wanted something more though, and Campion and Zimmermann knew it. They had been through so much together already, and now at the end of yet another adventure, they stood on the grounds where their parents were wed. And Treize had one more thing that he had wanted to say to her all his life. And this would be the hardest thing to say of all. He still vividly remembered how he felt when he finally choked the words out just as they jumped from the plane. He said it because he knew he would never get another chance otherwise. He said it because in that instant, he had to. When the time finally came, he didn't hesitate; he only acted. He resolved to do the same here.

As he mulled over the right words to use with Lillia, just across from his room Lillia and her mother were quietly talking over everything that had happened. She had just come to the part where they jumped out of the plane after Treize had said the words.

"I was starting to worry when he would say it," Allison laughed.

"I just wasn't expecting it…" Lillia responded, blushing.

"What went through your mind after he said it?"

"I felt…" Lillia started. She hesitated as the image of his face shouting the words in the plane just before they jumped came back to her. "…I never felt happier." Allison laughed lightly and smiled, her ocean blue eyes sparkling.

"I am glad for you, Lillia. I actually hoped for all this to happen." Lillia's bronze eyes widened at her mother's statement.

"Y-you did?" Allison nodded.

"You are very much like your father was at your age. He was too dense to catch on to how I felt about him, until we arrived here. I actually had to throw him on the floor of the church after Treize's parents left, and be point-blank with him. I don't know what would have happened had I not done it right then and there."

Allison chuckled at the old memory as Lillia just blushed, and lowered her head, thinking about Treize and about all they had been through together. He was always with her for every adventure they took part in. He was always her companion. And only a few days ago, he had become her boyfriend. She wondered what would come next for them. Allison could tell something was troubling her daughter and put a caring hand on her shoulder.

"What's the matter, Lillia?" Lillia smiled and just shook her head.

"Nothing's wrong. In fact…everything is better than I could have hoped. I never wanted our summer to turn out this way, but…" she raised her head and faced her mother, with the happiest smile Allison had ever seen on her face. "…I am glad that it did! Treize and I would not have been able to say how we loved each other, had none of this happened. So even if I got in another mess with him, I'm happy. I'm happy because we're finally honest with each other." Allison smiled.

"You two remind me of your father and me at your age. We always got into some adventure that we weren't counting on, but we grew closer because of it. Trouble always seemed to find us, but we always got out of it in one piece and a little wiser than before."

"You're wrong about one thing though."

"What's that, Lillia?"

"Trouble doesn't find us," Lillia laughed. "We find it."

"You're right, Lillia," Allison replied joining in her laughter.

They talked on for a little while longer about what would happen tomorrow morning, and Allison told Lillia about Campion's suggestion to visit the church where she and Wil were married. Lillia was overjoyed at the idea; she never got a chance to see the church of Lillianne since the last time she went on the Transcontinental Express, which ended in complete disaster. As they talked on into the night, there was only one person who kept holding a spot in her thoughts, and one person she never stopped thinking about.

Treize.

* * *

The next morning they woke up bright and early, and were told by Campion and Zimmermann to dress up as nicely as possible. The most Treize could do was a formal dress shirt and khaki trousers and black oxford shoes. He was grateful for it though, since his other set of clothes had started to smell from all the time he had spent in them. Lillia had found a short plaid red skirt and white blouse with puffy sleeves, wearing white knee-high stockings with brown penny loafers. It wasn't her best, but it would do for the day. Treize told her she looked beautiful in anything she wore. Allison made do with her Air Force uniform, but it wasn't a bad choice. Campion and Zimmermann had also dressed up in their formal attire and awaited them at the front steps of the hotel outside.

"Did you all sleep well?" Campion asked sincerely adjusting his glasses.

"As well as can be expected," Treize said chuckling nervously.

"After everything that's happened, I slept like a log!" Lillia said laughing.

"You're lucky. I had a lot to think over."

"Like what?" Treize blushed a little.

"You'll see."

Campion and Zimmermann chuckled knowingly as a long black sedan pulled up and then honked its horn.

"That's our limousine."

"Limousine?!" Lillia and Treize said together in great surprise. Allison only laughed.

"Did you think anything less was going to be given to two heroes?" she said.

Lillia and Treize just looked at each other and blushed, knowing that despite all the praise and attention they were being garnered with, they deserved every bit of it. They had both done very well for themselves, and Campion and Zimmermann were right; if it hadn't been for them, none of this would have been possible. They all quickly boarded the limousine which then sped off through town towards Lillianne's famous church. Lillia blushed a little from all the high-end treatment they had been getting the past few days.

"I don't know why, but I feel uncomfortable in a limousine…"

"I felt the same way when I rode in one to the church," Allison mused.

Lillia looked out the window and saw the approach lined with orchard trees and majestic flowers in full bloom. She gasped in amazement at the simple beauty of the landscape as the limousine drove on, entering the legendary Mountain City of Flowers.

"It's so beautiful! There are flowers everywhere! Mama, weren't there flowers here too when you and Treize's parents were here as well?"

"You're right, Lillia. There were. In fact, the flowers here bloom with the seasons so that there are always flowers here. Even in the winter, there are flowers here from the mountains."

Lillia got back down in her seat and sighed happily, putting her arm around Treize and leaning on his shoulder.

"If I'm able to see such a beautiful sight, maybe being a heroine isn't so bad." Treize just chuckled and lightly kissed her cheek.

"I can't imagine seeing this any other way."

In the distance, they all saw the church belfry, standing tall in the foreground of a beautiful picturesque scene. To the left of the church was a blue lake that shimmered in the sun, sending diamonds of light dancing in their eyes. All around the church, flowers of almost every color imaginable were planted, making it a rainbow garden. Behind the church stood tall evergreen trees of pine and fir, and even further behind stood majestic tall snow-covered mountains, tinted a faded violet against the rich blue sky, towering over the small church below. It seemed like something straight out of a painting, almost too beautiful for it to be real. The limousine came to a halt and all disembarked, walking along the pathway to the church, the bright summer sun shining down and casting a smiling light on the weary adventurers, their journey nearly at an end. Lillia marveled as they passed under an arch with a small cherub.

"It's such a beautiful place…"

"This area is called the 'Mountain City of Flowers'," Zimmermann explained as he and Campion led them all. "This place has been endeared by the locals for ages."

"The town Lillianne is named after the Queen, from the Kindom of Iltoi," Campion continued adjusting his glasses as all marveled at the wondrous sights, aromatic smells and gentle sounds that bombarded them from all directions. Lillia turned to Treize smiling.

"It's really fashionable to be named after a queen, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is," Treize responded smiling.

They then entered the church, and the thing that immediately struck Lillia was the beautiful stained glass windows and a large painting of winged cherubs above the altar of the church. They seemed to be smiling down on them all, as Allison Lillia, and Treize looked around at the church until finally Campion cleared his throat to catch their attention.

"I thought it would be best to bring you all up to date on the current status of the smuggling investigation."

"You mean how it's over now?" Treize said chuckling. The two agents laughed in reply.

"Well, yes. All the members of the smuggling ring including Steiner, Lord Giovanni and the Charlottenburg crew are all in jail, and they will be facing a long sentence for smuggling and embezzlement."

"What was Giovanni's involvement in the smuggling ring?" Lillia asked with curiosity in her voice. "Did you find out?"

"Yes," Zimmermann replied. "It turns out he was the ringleader."

"The ringleader?!" Treize and Lillia said in shock.

"Yes, it was surprising to us too," Campion said wiping his glasses. "But it seems all the wealth he has gotten over the years has been from smuggling. He was able to supply the smugglers with weapons like fighter planes and anti-aircraft guns from all the capital gained from smuggling."

"When he heard about you two," Zimmermann continued, "he personally made it a goal to eliminate you so you couldn't report the smugglers to the police or anyone else. That's why he hounded you with so many attempts to kill you."

"He has been stripped of all his wealth, and all the money he has made from the smuggling will be immediately redistributed to everyone who rightfully deserves it."

"That's comforting to hear, Lieutenant," Treize said with a relieved look on his face.

"There is still one thing I don't get," Lillia interjected. "That man that was drowned in the river."

"Albert Johnson?" Zimmermann spoke up, knowing who she was talking about.

"Yes, him. What did you find out about him?"

"Well, the answer may surprise you."

"After this adventure, we're used to surprises," Treize chuckled.

"Well he was a member of the smugglers too, but the funny thing is, he was already planning on selling information to the police."

Lillia and Treize's eyes widened to the size of saucers at this revelation. This man who was drowned and suffered a terrible fate, was trying to do the same thing they did successfully? This poor unfortunate man was on the same path of righteousness as them?

"It's shocking, I know. It seems he was planning to go to the police the very day he was drowned. Steiner caught wind of his plans and had him eliminated by drowning him in the river."

"And we dragged ourselves in by seeing it," Treize said reflecting on the events of only a few days ago.

"And we accomplished what he failed to do," Lillia continued.

"Indeed," Campion acknowledged as he put back on his glasses. "Steiner is also getting a longer sentence for orchestrating his murder."

"I guess that means everything is done now. The case is closed as they say." Zimmermann laughed.

"Indeed you are right. Also we both know how much trouble this has caused the two of you, so we will be putting you on the next train back to Roxche, with all expenses paid."

"That's very kind of you both, Lieutenants," Treize said smiling.

"Think nothing of it, Treize," Campion said chuckling. "It's our way of saying thank you. Like we said before, if it weren't for you two, their capture would not have been possible."

Both of them blushed and chuckled nervously, looking at each other with embarrassment, simply because they were happy that things had ended on a peaceful note, that all matters were resolved…that is…except one.

Zimmermann coughed, and spoke, bringing the last matter to attention.

"Well, the case is closed, but there is still one thing that needs to be settled."

He, Campion and Allison all looked at Treize and Lillia. Treize blushed as he knew what they were talking about. However, Lillia was clueless, and at a complete loss.

"Huh? There is still one more thing that needs to be addressed?" She looked to Treize who was busy looking down at his shoes, facing her. "Treize, do you know what they mean by that?"

"Yes…I do."

"Well?"

Treize slowly lifted his head and found himself looking into his love's bronze eyes, her light brown hair shining in the light streaming through the stained glass of the church windows. The eyes were ones of pure trust and innocence, like those of a child looking for guidance from a parent or a teacher. Her brown hair shimmered in the light of the summer sun, and he thought for a moment that he was staring into the face of an angel. He felt his knees buckle and his hands moisten with sweat, but he swallowed his fear and anxiety and said, in a serious voice with purpose,

"Lillia, you know this is the place where both of our parents were wed right?"

"Of course I know that."

"Well…I want to know something."

"What is it?"

"Lillia…what would you say to me if…I asked you to marry me?"

Lillia's eyes only doubled in size from the shock, and she let out a small gasp. Treize took something out of trouser pocket, and presented to her a small diamond ring with a gold band.

"As a prince of Ikstova…I'm obligated to choose who I want to marry before I turn 20. I made up my mind a long time ago. So I want to know. Will you stand beside me as my wife?"

"T-Treize…you're not serious…are you?" Lillia stuttered, simply unable to take all this in, overcome with emotion.

"I am as serious now as I was when I jumped out of the plane with you."

Lillia's eyes started to shimmer and well up with small crystal tears as Treize blushed and held out the ring before her.

"Because so many things get in the way, I never got the opportunity to ask you until today. So, I want to know. Lillia Acacia Corazon Whittington Schultz, will you marry me?"

Lillia's face turned a deep crimson, partly from her full name being used, and partly from not knowing what to say. She loved Treize, there was no doubt of that in her mind…but…marriage? Spending the rest of their lives together? The thought never even entered her head. Mostly because of so many things getting in the way. She was at a loss of words, this surprised her so profoundly. Every time she tried to open her mouth all that could come out were little fragments, small hesitations, and disbelieving gasps. She slowly tried to sound out her words.

"I…I don't know what to say, Treize…"

"Don't say anything then. If it's yes, then just smile for me. If it's no, then…"

Lillia looked down at her brown penny loafers, all of her times with him flashing back before her eyes as she tried to find the words to say. She suddenly remembered their first meeting together when they were little children. Their times as children playing in the snow in Ikstova. Their hair-raising adventure with the orphanage plane in Tolcasia. The attempted coup in Ikstova on New Year. Treize's close encounter with death on the Transcontinental Express against Criminal 42. The long agonizing months of not knowing whether he was dead or alive. She then remembered their times together in school, how often they studied together, ate lunch together, spent their time in clubs together. And finally, she remembered the serious and determined look in Treize's brown eyes as he called out the three words just before they jumped out of the plane. All those times, Treize had been there for her whenever things looked grim. He had always been her companion, her teammate, a person that she could always count on, no matter what the situation. He had been kind to her, supportive, and he was always there to save her at the end of the day.

She looked up at Treize, her eyes overflowing with small crystal tears, and slowly, surely, her lips turned into a small happy smile. She wasn't fooling anyone. She couldn't even fool herself, even if she tried. She loved him. She always did. She always will.

"You just made me very happy, Lillia."

Lillia giggled softly in slight embarrassment at hearing those words as Treize slid the diamond ring on her thin finger.

"Treize…"

"Yes, Lillia?"

"I hope that diamond isn't smuggled…"

"It's not," Zimmermann laughed. "I can vouch for it."

"We both chipped in to help him get it for today," Campion explained.

Lillia turned to the two agents, standing there in their formal uniforms smiling.

"You knew about this too, and didn't bother to tell me?"

"This was a top secret mission," Zimmermann chuckled. "We had strict orders to keep this under wraps."

"You can't expect anything else from Intelligence agents you know," Campion added, laughing.

"Lillia, let's exchange our vows," Treize said, bringing her attention back to him.

They took each other's hand and looked into the other's eyes with a look of pure happiness and joy in both pairs. Treize spoke his vows first, his voice firm.

"May the Lord be with us forevermore." Lillia soon responded in kind, her voice strong, but her hands moistening with nervous sweat.

"May the Goddess of Love always watch over us."

Treize and Lillia stood there for a few moments, smiling at each other until Lillia closed her eyes and pursed her lips. Treize took the cue and leaned in, placing his hands on her delicate cheeks and planting a soft tender kiss on her smooth lips. Lillia sighed happily as her hands curled around his neck, deepening the kiss, and making it all the more enjoyable for the both of them. Treize was the first to break apart from the kiss and pull something more out of his pocket.

"Treize, I already have a ring," Lillia said laughing.

"This isn't a ring."

What he took from his pocket was a gold pendant, bearing the seal of Ikstova. He strung it around her neck and whispered in her ear,

"I told you I would give you one just like mine…"

"I guess this makes me a princess, right?"

"You guessed it, Lillia."

Treize smiled and gave her another soft caring kiss on her lips which seemed to last longer than before. They felt nothing but joy with this kiss they shared which sealed their marriage, and brought out one more secret from Treize; Lillia now knew just how much he really cared about her and loved her. He loved her enough to be her husband. And she couldn't be happier with that. They then turned to face the three spectators of this private ceremony.

Allison, her blonde hair shining in the summer sun could not help but cry at the sight of her daughter being wed, and she couldn't think of a better person for her to marry. She and Treize reminded her of when she and Wil were younger, always going out on great adventures, always getting in trouble, and always getting out in one piece having learned something from it.

Campion's glasses reflected light off of them, as he and his partner smiled at their two newfound friends who had helped them in this, the biggest caper yet, and became a pair of regular heroes for it. All of this was thanks to them.

"My best wishes to both of you," Zimmermann said smiling.

"Congratulations," Campion added, concurring with his partner and friend. "You two deserve this. Every last bit of it."

* * *

The next day, they left the town of Lillianne and boarded the next Transcontinental Express. Allison thought it was best to let them enjoy the trip back on their own, since she still had a plane to return to the airfield anyway. The last thing that she said to them before she left in her plane was, wearing a sly smirk on her face,

"Don't do anything you'd regret on the way home."

Campion and Zimmermann went to see them off at the train station, thanking them one last time for everything they had done to help them in their investigation.

"You helped us more than we can say," Zimmermann said kindly. "You deserve every bit of praise that you get from us, and from the rest of the world."

"I guess being a hero isn't so bad," Treize said, his arm around Lillia, "if you get what you really want out of it." He pulled her close to him and kissed her lightly on the cheek to which Lillia giggled in response.

"I wish you well, Treize, Lillia," Campion said smiling, adjusting his glasses as the engine blew its horn, signaling to all of them it was time to leave. "Best of luck to you, and take care."

"You too, Lieutenants. Farewell."

They boarded the train and the engine blew one last whistle before the train gave a lurch, and slowly started moving away from the platform.

"Do you think they'll be happy together, Helmut?" Campion asked his friend.

"I have no doubt of it, Fred," Zimmermann replied. "They deserve this. They've deserved this for a long time, and they should not get anything less."

On the train, Treize and Lillia walked to their compartment where they would spend the rest of the trip together. Treize opened the door and they were immediately taken aback by the wonderful accommodations. Campion and Zimmermann really wanted to treat them well after everything they did. The suite they would occupy consisted of a red velvet sofa in the corner, with a small coffee table facing opposite it with a small tea and china set neatly arranged. Further back were their beds, and of course their bathroom. Lillia turned to Treize and he to her, and both smiled, knowing that this time, nothing would interrupt their plans. They could continue on with their vacations, as planned, and in an even better standing than before. Because they were finally honest with each other.

Both sat down on the sofa, gently holding each other's hands, not saying anything, for nothing needed to be said. However there was one thing on Treize's mind that he still wanted to ask.

"Lillia?"

"Hmm?" she mumbled, close to dozing off while leaning on his shoulder.

"Can you tell me what your dreams were about?"

"What?" she asked in slight bewilderment.

"You always said to me that you had a good dream whenever I woke you up. I want to know…what was good about the dreams you had?"

Lillia blushed. She wondered if maybe this secret was best kept secret from him for now. But then she remembered how Treize said he would always be honest with her now, and that she should do the same. She sighed, but not in the way that one would in exasperation. She sighed rather in contentment as she looked up to Treize, staring back at her with his deer brown eyes into her bronze, and began.

"It was always the same dream. We were in a church, much like the one in Lillianne. I was wearing a wedding gown with a long veil, carrying a beautiful bouquet of flowers, flowers from Lillianne. You were wearing a tuxedo with a white dress shirt and a black bowtie. And…we were exchanging vows. We were saying how we loved each other, and how much we had wanted to tell each other that but couldn't, all because of so many adventures getting in the way." She giggled at that part, and Treize couldn't help but laugh too, because it was so true.

"What happened next?"

"Well…after we exchanged vows…we pledged to stay by each other's side until the end of time. And then…we leaned in for a kiss between us."

"Was that when I always woke you up?"

"Yes…idiot."

She playfully nudged him in the side, giggling at that. Treize just chuckled, and spoke his next piece.

"I admit, I am an idiot. I am a royal idiot for holding back for so long. You deserve so much better than that Lillia. I just hope I am able to make it up to you now that we're married."

"You might, if you follow two conditions."

"Anything. Just name it."

"First, no more adventures, for a long, long time. And second, you tell me every secret you have before our lives are over."

"I can do that."

"Do you promise?"  
"I swear on my…Princely honor."

He turned Lillia's face towards his and planted a soft soothing kiss on her lips, every second another minute, every minute another hour. This was something that would last a lifetime. They were happy for what had happened. Even if it had gotten them involved in another adventure neither of them wanted, cracking another mystery neither had counted on, they were glad because they finally knew the most important thing about each other: the love that was felt between them. Neither could be happier with that.

"Say Treize…"

"Hmm?"

"You do know that we will have to keep our marriage a secret while we're in school, right?" Treize's mood dipped slightly upon hearing that.

"Oh yeah…" Lillia giggled and put one arm around him.

"I don't care though. If being in love means keeping it a secret, I'll do it. For you."

"Same here, Lillia. I love you."

"I love you, too."

Treize smiled and he looked out the window of his car, to find a small family of birds flying by, and he looked closely to find that it was from the same bird that he saw, flying over the Lutoni River after they had escaped the ship. That bird had found something; a family to care for, loved ones to cherish. He felt more in common with those birds now than ever, having found what he wanted in this adventure. He wished the family of birds well as they flew on into the sky, out of sight, as the train sped onward through the Bezelese countryside and to Roxche on the other side of the river. He then looked down at Lillia, and found her to be sleeping peacefully, leaning on his shoulder still, without a single care in the world. He smiled and planted one more kiss on her velvety caring lips, to which she giggled softly, as he whispered his final words.

"Sleep well, Lillia. I love you. Let's start our lives anew from this point on."

**THE END**


End file.
